Heart Surgery Boy on Facebook: Happy Ending

One of the most shared photos on Facebook recently is that of a child in a hospital bed, drowning in a sea of bandages and tubes, and apparently suffering from a heart condition. The caption reads:

I NEED AT LEAST 100 SHARES.

Plz share….. Heart surgery free of cost for children
(0-10 Yrs) It might save some1′s life…!
Sharing takes a second…
in bangalore INDIA

More than likes, sharing can help !

(I removed the phone number posted in the caption)

Who is the child in this photo, is it real or fake, and when was it taken?

The short answer: This is a photo of a child recovering from surgery in 2008 in Odessa, Ukraine – not India.

Reading the comments however, we find that most viewers of this photo have the misconception that the child in the photo is in need of immediate medical care. Such comments as “I will pray for him” or “this breaks my heart” are scattered throughout. Thankfully, those comments are not warranted. The photo was posted in 2008 as part of the Chernobyl Children’s Project International (Link also contains the original source of the popular photo). The photo is not of a dying child awaiting a new heart, but of a recovering child whose life had just been saved by the efforts of this project. This child was one of 15 who received free, life-saving heart surgery in Odessa, Ukraine. The medical care was provided by volunteers.

In other words, the photo is a beautiful sight of recovery, rather than a desperate plea for help. Of course, if you still want to help this project, their website linked above has a link to their donation page.

But the next time you see this photo floating around Facebook, think of the wonderful efforts of the volunteers back in 2008.