Romanian prosecutors arrested three people in Bucharest today, under the charge of egg cells traffic, at a private clinic operating without authorization.
Some 60 people linked to the case were heard all night by investigators who unearthed a network of doctors who were prevailing egg cells from Romanian women and used them for in-vitro fertilizations.
The clinic, called Sabyc, was searched last night and prosecutors found both a sperm and an egg cell bank. Roma women from Romania, aged 15 to 30, were paid 800-1,000 lei (250 euros) per donation.
Two Israeli doctors under arrest Doctors Harry Mironescu and Yair Miron, along with their Romanian recruiter, Cecilia Borzea, were arrested for the day and prosecutors asked judges to issue a 29-day preventive arrest warrant for each of them.
1,200 fertilizations The clinic carried out about 1,200 in-vitro fertilizations in the past years in Romania and provided such services to hundreds of Germans and Israelis for 15,000 euros
Prosecutors found 30 women at the clinic, some of them readying for being fertilized. Also, they discovered fake records about the donors.
No authorization
The Israeli-based Sabyc lacked authorization, though it opened in 1999. The only document authorizing it was a collaboration protocol closed between Israel and Romania, in 1979, according to the Doctors’ College president, Vasile Astarastoae.
The institution recommended last year that the clinic be closed, he told evz.ro, but no one applied the measure.
Moreover, the National Transplant Agency said it issued an authorization for Sabyc last week. “Every time our inspectors did checkups, the place was empty, ” the head of the agency, Victor Zota said.
In Romania, donating cells in exchange of money is illegal and is punished with seven years of prison, after the law was changed in 2006.
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