At a primary school in Guangzhou, China, a 7-year-old child had blood drawn on campus without her parents’ knowledge. When Ms. Zhang (the child’s mother) saw that glaring piece of medical tape on her daughter’s wrist, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. The child who had gone to school lively that morning came home with two tubes of blood taken from her. “Who gave you permission to touch my child?” Her heart-wrenching cry erupted at the school gate.
At 5 a.m., Ms. Zhang’s accusations suddenly flooded the parents’ group chat. The homeroom teacher’s phone was switched off, and the principal avoided all calls. “My daughter’s blood—you just take it whenever you want.” This thunderous outcry instantly awakened all the parents.
On November 6, an absurd scene unfolded at this primary school in Haizhu District, Guangzhou: first-grade students were pinned to their desks to complete a blood-drawing procedure, while parents were kept in the dark for three whole days. The school offered a casual explanation, claiming the examination was mandated by the Education Bureau and had been carried out for years in surrounding schools. However, when asked why parents had not been notified, the person in charge stammered, “Maybe some homeroom teachers forgot to send the notice.” With a single “forgot,” the parents’ right to know was erased. In Journey to the West (a classical mythological novel), even monsters kidnapping Tang Sanzang would leave a written message—yet here, not a word was given. It was worse than the monsters.
At the blood-drawing site, 7-year-old children lined up and stretched out their tiny arms. At the moment the needle pierced their skin, not a single parent was by their side. Two tubes of bright red blood were labeled with codes and placed into a cooler box. The entire process was carried out so quickly it felt like some kind of secret operation. Later, parents questioned why the children’s health check had shifted from a simple finger prick to drawing two full tubes of blood. Why was the blood draw done in secret?
“The teacher said it was a secret mission, and if we told our parents we’d lose our little red flowers (a form of praise).” The words “secret mission” sent chills through parents’ hearts. The notion of informed consent had completely collapsed into a hollow illusion. It inevitably led people to recall the frequent child-trafficking cases in China and the repeated mysterious disappearances of teenagers—could this be related?
Many times, parents don’t even know why blood needs to be drawn, where the blood goes, or how it is used. Once something is labeled as “a higher-level directive” or “uniformly required by the Education Bureau,” personal privacy can no longer be effectively protected—especially since some children have very rare blood types. If such blood type or organ-related information were ever leaked, it could lead to unimaginable consequences. According to data from 2021, China performed 19,326 organ transplant surgeries, but only 5,272 came from voluntary donations—so where did the remaining ten thousand or so organs come from?
When little Mengmeng rolled up his sleeve and revealed that tiny needle mark, he lifted his head and asked his mother, “Did the bad guys steal my blood?” That single question pierced the hearts of countless people.