Mother tells Ynet she waited two days after ChatGPT, while advising a check, said it was relatively rare; her teenage son lost a testicle
Ynetnews reported on 12 April 2026 that doctors at Meir Medical Center had seen three teenage boys lose a testicle in the past month after arriving too late for treatment of testicular torsion. The mother of one of them told Ynet that when her son complained of lower abdominal pain she thought it might be constipation and consulted ChatGPT, which gave several options, said it could be something serious and that they should get it checked, but also said it was relatively rare, so they thought they could wait. After two days without improvement the boy's testicle was swollen and he could hardly walk; an urgent care clinic sent them to hospital and ChatGPT, consulted again, told them to go to the emergency room immediately. At the hospital, late at night, doctors diagnosed severe torsion, operated and removed the testicle; the boy is recovering at home. The doctors attribute the month's unusually high rate of complications mainly to delayed arrival at the emergency room, which they say the war has partly influenced.
- AI system
- ChatGPT (reported)
- OpenAI
- Occurred
- 2026
- Reported
- 12 April 2026
- Event location
- Israel
- What the AI did
- Informed a human decision about the person
- Reported harm
- Physical InjuryMedical Deterioration
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Health
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: ChatGPT, as named by the boy's mother in Ynetnews's report; the exchange itself is not published
What Happened
The mother's account. Ynetnews (12 April 2026) quotes the mother of a teenage boy treated at Meir Medical Center. Her son began having pain three days before the operation; he told her he had lower abdominal pain and that his testicles felt hard, and she thought it might be related to constipation. At one point she consulted ChatGPT: in her words, it gave several options and said it could be something serious and that they should get it checked, but it also said it was relatively rare, so they thought they could wait; he was not in extreme pain at first. After two days without improvement the boy noticed swelling, and when he could no longer bear the pain and had trouble walking they went to an urgent care clinic, which advised them to go to hospital. She consulted ChatGPT again, showed it the diagnosis they had been given, and it told them to go to the emergency room immediately. At the hospital, late at night, doctors diagnosed severe testicular torsion requiring immediate surgery, and the testicle was removed.
The hospital's context. Ynetnews reports that about ten boys aged 12 to 18 were diagnosed with torsion at the hospital in the same month and that three lost a testicle; the head of the hospital's male fertility clinic says this is much higher than the 7 to 10 per cent in the literature, mainly because of late arrival. Doctors say the war has partly influenced the delays and that teenagers often delay out of embarrassment. Ynetnews adds that the chance of saving the testicle is about 90 per cent with surgery within six hours and 18 per cent after 24 hours.
What is not established. The ChatGPT exchange is not published; the account of what it said is the mother's. By her account ChatGPT did advise getting the boy checked and later urged the emergency room; the reported contribution is its statement that the condition was relatively rare, which she says led the family to wait. Ynetnews's own headline and standfirst describe the family as having waited despite ChatGPT urging urgent care.
Reported harm
The boy lost a testicle after severe testicular torsion was diagnosed too late to save it; his mother says the family waited two days after ChatGPT, while advising a check, said it was relatively rare.
Outcome
ResolvedThe testicle was removed in emergency surgery and the boy is recovering at home (Ynetnews). No response from OpenAI is reported.
What remains unknown
- The exact date of the boy's illness and surgery; Ynet's report of 12 April 2026 places it in the past month.
- The text of the ChatGPT exchanges, including how prominently it advised a check.
- Whether the family would have sought care sooner without the ChatGPT answer.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The mother tells Ynetnews that ChatGPT, asked about her son's symptoms, gave several options, said it could be something serious and should be checked, but also said it was relatively rare, and that because of this the family thought they could wait. The output (the relatively-rare statement alongside the advice to get checked), her use of it (deciding to wait two days) and the consequence (late diagnosis and removal of the testicle) are each described in her account; the AI output informed a parent's decision about her child (informed_decision_about). The exchange is not published, ChatGPT also advised a check and later urged the emergency room, so the status is reported.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The mother says that when her son had lower abdominal pain she consulted ChatGPT, which gave several options and said it could be something serious and that they should get it checked, but also said it was relatively rare, so the family thought they could wait; after two days without improvement the boy noticed swelling.
Causal attribution. The mother's account to Ynet; the exchange is not published and the AI's role in the delay is her attribution.
- ynetnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'At one point, she consulted ChatGPT.'; '“It gave several options and said it could be something serious and that we should get it checked,” she said. “But it also said it was relatively rare, so we thought we could wait. He wasn’t in extreme pain at first.”'; 'After two days without improvement, the boy noticed swelling.'
Reported After an urgent care clinic sent them to hospital, the mother consulted ChatGPT again and it told them to go to the emergency room immediately; at the hospital late at night doctors diagnosed severe testicular torsion requiring immediate surgery, and the testicle was removed.
Causal attribution. The mother's account and Ynet's narrative; the removal is in her quoted account and the hospital's count of three boys who lost a testicle.
- ynetnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'They went to an urgent care clinic, where they were advised to go to the hospital. She consulted ChatGPT again.'; '“We showed it the diagnosis we were given, and it told us to go to the emergency room immediately. It was crazy,” she said.'; 'By the time they arrived at the hospital late at night, doctors diagnosed severe testicular torsion requiring immediate surgery. The boy is now recovering at home.'; 'shortly after, we were told he would need to have the testicle removed'; 'boy who lost a testicle described how the delay unfolded'
Reported Doctors at Meir Medical Center in Israel say three teenage boys lost a testicle in the past month after arriving too late for torsion treatment, mainly because of delayed arrival, which they say the war has partly influenced.
Causal attribution. The hospital doctors' statements to Ynet; Mydrivers supplies the hospital's location in Kfar Saba, Israel.
- ynetnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'Three teenage boys lost a testicle in the past month at Meir Medical Center after arriving too late for treatment of testicular torsion, a medical emergency in which every hour is critical.'; 'According to doctors, the unusually high rate of complications is largely due to delayed arrival at the emergency room, a trend they say has been influenced in part by the ongoing war.'
- news.mydrivers.com(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
'近日在以色列卡法萨巴市的梅尔医疗中心'
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Ynetnews, 12 April 2026: ChatGPT emergency warning ignored, delay in care costs teen a testicle(opens in new tab)
s1 · ynetnews.com · News report · English · Inspected · 12 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- Mydrivers (Kuai Keji), 14 April 2026: Chinese retelling of the Meir Medical Center torsion case(opens in new tab)
s2 · news.mydrivers.com · News report · Chinese · Inspected · 14 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16; no translation was needed. No Hebrew-language version was read. Applies to s1.
Read in Chinese and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16; no human reviewer inspected the text. Kuai Keji (Mydrivers) retelling of 14 April 2026, written after the Ynet report and grouped with it; its only addition used here is the hospital's city. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Israel. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The boy was treated at Meir Medical Center (Ynetnews), which Mydrivers locates in Kfar Saba, Israel, so IL is the event country. No source states the family's residence or nationality. No court.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-16: Published as a contextual case under the approved informed_decision_about class: the boy's mother tells Ynetnews that ChatGPT said his symptoms could be serious and should be checked but that the condition was relatively rare, that the family therefore waited two days, and that he lost a testicle when severe torsion was diagnosed. The output, the parent's use of it and the consequence are each attributed to her account; ChatGPT's advice to get checked and its later urging of the emergency room are recorded.
People described
A teenage boy treated at Meir Medical Center in Israel; neither he nor his mother is named.
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One boy, harmed through his mother's decision to wait after she consulted ChatGPT; he is counted as another person harmed because his mother, not he, used ChatGPT. The two other boys the hospital mentions are not linked to AI.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Mother tells Ynet she waited two days after ChatGPT, while advising a check, said it was relatively rare; her teenage son lost a testicle. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-israel-mother-waited-after-chatgpt-said-it-was-relatively-rare-teen-lost-testicle
BibTeX
@misc{2026_israel_mother_waited_after_chatgpt_said_it_was_relatively_rare_teen_lost_testicle,
title = {Mother tells Ynet she waited two days after ChatGPT, while advising a check, said it was relatively rare; her teenage son lost a testicle},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-israel-mother-waited-after-chatgpt-said-it-was-relatively-rare-teen-lost-testicle}
} Related cases
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