Man addicted to drinking blood, suffered from 'vampirism'

The man allegedly got his father to steal from blood banks to fuel his addiction. Photo / Thinkstock

Doctors in Turkey have described the case of a "real life vampire" - a man with multiple personalities and an addiction to consuming blood.

According to the doctors, led by Direnc Sakarya, of Denizli Military Hospital in southwestern Turkey, the 23-year-old married man cut his own arms, chest and belly to drip blood into a cup so he could drink it, LiveScience reports.

However his urge to drink blood became "as urgent as breathing", the doctors said, and he looked to other sources to quench his thirst.

According to the case study, published this month in the Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, the man was arrested on several occasions after stabbing and biting victims to drink their blood. He also allegedly got his father to steal blood from blood banks for him to consume.

The two year-long blood-drinking phase followed traumatic experiences in the man's life, the doctors said. His four-month-old daughter died from an illness, he saw his uncle get murdered and witnessed one of friends kill someone, cutting off their head and penis.

According to the report, the man claimed an "imaginary companion" compelled him to commit violent acts and attempt suicide, LifeScience reported.

The man also suffered from memory lapses.

"Possibly due to 'switching' to another personality state, he was losing track during the 'bloody' events, did not care who the victim was anymore, and remained amnesic to this part of his act," the report said.

The doctors diagnosed the man with dissociative identity disorder (DID), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic depression and alcohol abuse.

The doctors understood he was the first case of someone suffering from both 'vampirism' and DID. DID has been linked with childhood abuse and neglect, which the man had suffered as an adolescent.

Six weeks after his treatment, the doctors claim the man's blood-drinking urges were in remission, however his dissociative symptoms remained.

It is not known whether the man suffered any ill effects from the blood drinking, however consuming blood can result in haemochromatosis (iron overdose) or contracting blood-borne diseases, LifeScience reported.

- www.nzherald.co.nz