Chinese family beg for cash to help son born with 31 fingers and toes

The parents of a Chinese baby born with 31 fingers and toes are begging for donations to give their son a "normal" life.

Hong Hong, who is three months old, has 15 fingers, 16 toes, and two palms, with no thumbs on either hand, CNN reports.

He was born with polydactylism, a genetic condition inherited from his mother, who has six fingers and toes.

"We were worried that our child would inherit the condition, but after going to three big hospitals in Shenzhen, doctors found no birth defects on our son during scans," the boy's father, Zou Chenglin, told People's Daily.

Changing Hong Hong's life won't be a simple matter of just removing the excess appendages.

Surgeons will have to construct working opposable thumbs, essential for providing precision grip.

Mr Chenglin said the family will need to raise $40,000 for a procedure that complex.

They had raised more than $8000 in online donations, but CNN reports the family have stopped crowdfunding because of "mixed comments" they received about asking for cash on the internet.

The family are now reportedly back in their hometown of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, in the hope of finding local donors.