Indian medical mystery
When a 13-year-old girl in India named Twinkle Dwivedi began bleeding "spontaneously" from her head, eyes, hands and feet, the National Geographic Channel decided to make a documentary about this medical mystery.
And, when Nat Geo wanted an American expert to help document the case, they called on Dr. George Buchanan, a blood and cancer specialist at Children's with an international reputation and more than 40 years of experience in diagnosing medical conditions. Dr. Buchanan is the chief of hematology-oncology at Children's and a professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
At National Geographic's request, Dr. Buchanan traveled to Mumbai, India, to work with local physician experts to see if modern medical techniques and close observation could help diagnose Twinkle's condition, one Dr. Buchanan had never seen before.
What he saw when he got to meet Twinkle was a sweet teenager who did appear to bleed from her scalp, eyes, hands and feet. However, what gave Dr. Buchanan and his Indian colleagues pause was that neither he nor they ever saw the start of the bleeding, leaving them unable to either confirm or deny the claims.
Dr. Buchanan believes the mystery will not be solved until Twinkle is observed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in a controlled setting where the start of her bleeding can be seen.
Dr. Buchanan is slated to appear on NBC Channel 5 Thursday, Sept. 10, during the station's news broadcast to discuss Twinkle's case. He also is scheduled to be interviewed on NBC's "Today" show Friday, Sept. 11, about this medical mystery.
See for yourself whether you believe Twinkle spontaneously bleeds. The Nat Geo documentary, "The Girl Who Cries Blood," premieres on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. local time on the National Geographic Channel.
Dr. George Buchanan, chief of hematology-oncology at Children's, examines a patient in the outpatient services at the hospital. Dr. Buchanan will be featured on NBC Channel 5 Thursday, Sept. 10; NBC's
