Fact Check: Old clip of Asaduddin Owaisi claiming to donate 15 bottles of blood resurfaces

Hyderabad: A video of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen party chief Asaduddin Owaisi speaking at a public meeting in 2019 claiming to have donated 15 bottles (units) of blood in one sitting has resurfaced on social media.

NewsMeter received the video on its WhatsApp Tipline number 7482830440.

In the viral video, addressing an election rally in Maharashtra, Asaduddin Owaisi recollected the time he apparently donated blood at Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad. “A doctor asked if anyone has O+ blood. I said I do. The doctor said ‘Please help’. That day, Allah is witness to the fact that I donated not one bottle but 15 bottles of blood.”

He further added that he didn’t take rest after donating the blood. He said that he ran throughout the hospital to help the needy. After the speech, Owaisi came under heavy online trolling. A number of media organisations such as The New Indian Express and The Siasat Daily also covered his claims in his speech in 2019.

We also found the video on multiple YouTube channels of news agencies. Click here, here, here and here to view the videos.

Is it humanly possible to donate 15 units of blood in a single day?

Fact Check

NewsMeter found Asad’s claim of 15 bottles is not medically possible.

According to the World Health Organisation, “In most countries, the volume of blood taken is 450 milliliters, less than 10 percent of your total blood volume (the average adult has 4.5 to 5 litres of blood). In some countries, a smaller volume is taken. Your body will replace the lost fluid within about 36 hours.”

An adult can safely donate around one unit of blood, which is around 350 ml of blood, every three months and an adult person would have 5 to 6 liters of blood in them.

Going by this calculation, Owaisi donated up to 5,000 ml of blood in a day, which is almost the entire quantity. Healthline says that if you lose too much blood your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen to support life. The person losing this much blood might go under hemorrhagic shock. Doctors have categorized hemorrhagic shock into 4 categories. In the class 4 category, the amount of blood loss can be fatal and it reflects blood loss of 2,000 ml.

Hence, Owaisi’s claim that he donated 15 units of blood is false.

A doctor, under the condition of anonymity, debunked Owaisi’s claim, “It is impossible to donate 15 bottles of blood in a day. Maybe, it is possible to donate a total of 15 bottles over a period of many years. As an adult, we have about 5.5 liters (about 15 units) of blood in our body normally. Each time you donate you give 350 ml (1 unit) only. The general public calls it a bottle because we used to use bottles a few decades ago. Now we use plastic bags which draw blood from the body directly. Each bag contains 350 ml which we call a unit. Once you donate, the body will automatically replenish this amount in a week or in 10 days in normal situations. Usually, we don’t recommend re-donation within three months.”