Video of child victims of organ theft and kidney removal in Punjab’s Sadiqabad

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to investigate the video and searched for news stories regarding the incident.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X on June 2, 2025, shared a video of children lying on charpoys with bandages on their lower abdomen, claiming that they were victims of organ theft and kidney removal. However, the children in the video were actually victims of unnecessary appendectomies.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 2, an X user, who appeared to be a PML-N supporter based on their past posts, shared a video of children lying on charpoys with bandages on their lower abdomen.

The post was captioned: “Extremely sad incident … In Sadiqabad, Punjab, 25 people had their kidneys removed under the pretense of undergoing surgery for kidney stones.”

The post was viewed by nearly 78,000 people.

The video with the same claim was shared here, here, here and here, racking up 122,000, 23,000, 25,000 and 26,000 views respectively.

Other posts featuring the same claim can be seen here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and it being a matter of public concern.

A reverse image search did not yield any news coverage of the alleged organ theft incident.

Instead, a screengrab from the viral video was traced to a news report about a separate case of medical malpractice in Sadiqabad, published by ARY News on May 31, 2025, titled: “Sadiqabad hospital performs appendix surgeries on 28 children in misdiagnosis case”.

According to the report, doctors at Toheed Medical Complex, a private hospital in Sadiqabad, Rahim Yar Khan district, performed unnecessary appendectomies on dozens of children presenting with abdominal pain.

The hospital has since been sealed following an inquiry report that cited serious negligence and unethical surgical practices.

The report said the case has also been referred to the Punjab Healthcare Commission for further investigation under the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act to identify those responsible.

The news report included video footage showing authorities sealing the hospital, along with visuals of children lying on charpoys.

A comparison of the footage confirmed that the viral clip was filmed at the same location, though from a different angle.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows children who were victims of organ theft and kidney removal is misleading.

The video actually shows children who were unnecessarily operated on for their appendix in a case of misdiagnosis.

Evidence and References

May 31, 2025, ARY Newsreport:
https://arynews.tv/sadiqabad-hospital-appendix-surgeries-children-in-misdiagnosis-case/