Chinese Parents Pull Children From School as Fears of Organ Harvesting Spread Online

Parents across multiple regions in China are pulling their children out of school after widespread online allegations of illegal organ harvesting from minors, triggering a surge of fear over child safety under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) rule.In recent days, Chinese social media platforms, including Wechat, Douyin, and Rednote, have been flooded with posts from parents saying they have stopped sending their children to school, citing concerns for their children’s lives. The sentiment—often described by netizens as “suspending school to stay alive”—has spread rapidly through comment threads and short-video responses.Online Rumors, DisappearancesIn recent years, reports of missing youths in China have circulated widely online, often accompanied by rumors that organs were missing from returned bodies. Despite China’s extensive surveillance system, many of these youths allegedly disappeared without explanation, with bodies reportedly returned much later and with unclear accounts of their whereabouts before death.Online posts discussing such cases are frequently censored, further fueling suspicion and fear among parents.China is a global center for organ transplantation and ranks among the highest in Asia in the number of transplants performed. The CCP has published standardized guidelines for organ transplant fees, a move that has drawn criticism from rights advocates who argue it risks incentivizing abuses against vulnerable groups, including minors and prisoners of conscience.Parents Take Kids Out of SchoolOn Jan. 22, a Douyin user posting under the name “Zhugege” said in a video that his 14-year-old daughter would stop attending school starting the next day, in a post documented by the Chinese language Epoch Times.“Whether she succeeds academically no longer matters,” he said. “As long as she grows up safe, healthy, and happy, that’s enough.”The video quickly drew hundreds of responses. One person who commented wrote that his 16-year-old son was staying home “as long as he’s safe and healthy.” Another said her 15-year-old child had already left school to work, adding, “As long as she’s alive, nothing else matters.” Many of these comments received large numbers of likes.The surge in anxiety among parents follows weeks of online discussion regarding alleged cases of children dying under suspicious circumstances, as well as unverified claims that the internal organs of some minors had been harvested. While no publicly available evidence has substantiated those claims, the rumors have continued to circulate.Collapse of Public Trust: AnalystA lawyer in China’s Hubei province, who only gave his surname as Zhang, out of concern for his safety, told The Epoch Times that the reaction reflects a broader erosion of public trust rather than a response to a single incident.“In a system where information is opaque, and power lacks effective oversight, the public has no way to verify the truth or seek accountability,” he said. “There is a huge gap between official narratives and what people feel they are experiencing.”Zhang said parents are increasingly relying on fragmented information from social media to assess risk, citing reports shared online of students who allegedly died at school, disappeared, or died shortly after being hospitalized.“When parents feel they can’t even be sure their child will be safe at school, withdrawing them becomes a form of self-protection,” he said.School Health ChecksConcerns have also focused on mandatory school health checkups. Chinese parents on social media have questioned routine medical examinations that include blood draws. Many have pointed out that such procedures were not required when they were students themselves. Multiple posts directly linked school attendance with life-threatening risk.Fear intensified further when Chinese netizens pointed out that blood tests could be used for organ matching. Many warned parents to “bring children home immediately to save their lives.”Parental unease has also been fueled by recent official publicity related to organ donation. On Jan. 20, the WeChat account “China Organ Donation” posted a video showing an 18-year-old who donated organs after his death, including footage of medical staff bowing in tribute and images of a birthday cake and a donation certificate.The promotion of “voluntary organ donations” sparked widespread discussion online.Separately, screenshots from older school events have resurfaced and circulated. Some images show students in school uniforms holding placards bearing phrases such as “organ donation” and “dedicating one’s life,” images taken in school auditoriums or halls.A parent in Wuhan, identified only by his surname Wang due to concern for his safety, told the Chinese language Epoch Times that these repeated images and messages made him uneasy about what children are exposed to at school. He said he and his wife decided to suspend their child’s schooling and switch to homeschooling out of fear that their child could be pressured into signing organ donation documents without fully understanding what that entails.Chinese authorities have not publicly responded to the online panic or addressed the specific claims circulating on social media.Xin Ling contributed to this report.