Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Romanian police arrest two in human egg trafficking case
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian police have arrested two people suspected of buying the unfertilised eggs of poor female students and selling them on to Israeli couples who were unable to conceive.
The human eggs were bought from the women - mostly from deprived provincial areas and aged between 18 and 30 - for up to 800 euros (719 pounds), the police said in a statement. They were then sold for as much as 4,000 euros for in-vitro fertilisation at a private clinic in the capital Bucharest.
 |
A woman with her face covered is escorted by gendarmes to their van outside the Med New Life clinic as the department for fighting organised crime and terrorism (DIICOT) begin a criminal investigation on the suspected trafficking of human eggs in Bucharest February 19, 2013. Romanian police busted a human egg-trafficking ring consisting of 11 people, including Israeli doctors and specialists in assisted reproduction, and the Romanian managers of the Bucharest clinic, local media reported. According to police, the suspects recruited Romanian women -- mostly impoverished students -- and paid them 600 to 800 euros ($800-$1,100) for their eggs. They then sold them for up to 4,000 euros to Israeli couples seeking assisted fertilization. REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel |
It was the second time in four years that police in the east European country have found human eggs being sold for artificial insemination, a trade that is against the law there.
Police did not name the clinic or the people involved. They said 30 people had been questioned so far in connection with the case, including doctors, nurses and embryologists. Most of the couples who had bought the Romanian eggs were from Israel.
"This morning we decided to detain two people, a Romanian and an Israeli citizen, partners in this clinic business," a Bucharest police official told Reuters. "We'll propose detaining them for 29 days pending the inquiry on the egg trade."
Students often struggle to make ends meet in Romania, where poverty has worsened since a real estate and credit bubble burst in 2008.
In-vitro fertilisation is sometimes used by couples who face problems to conceive and involves fertilising eggs outside the body and placing them in the uterus for a normal pregnancy.
(Reporting by Ioana Patran; Writing by Radu Marinas; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Set aside differences, Malaysians told
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- Arrest of Opposition figures not political, say cops
- Pakatan uncowed by seizure of party organs
- NUJ slams attacks on journalists covering vigils
- MACC starts probe into payment in rape-marry case
- PKR condemns arrest of trio
- Google, like Facebook, in talks to buy Waze for about US$1bil
- Crown selling entire 10% in rival Echo, partly owned by Genting
- First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction, can fetch US$150,000
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Markets face rough summer ride as Fed pullback feared
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Commodities trader sues BP, Shell others for alleged oil price fixing
- Billionaire Icahn seeks up to US$7bil for Dell bid
- Google faces new federal antitrust probe
- Goldman Sachs unveils checks on conflicts in bid to fix tarnished image
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Maybank bullish on growth, to expand regionally under new leadership
- Khazanah appoints Nor Mohamed deputy chairman
- Lafarge Malayan Cement to finalise next expansion plans by August
- Daibochi expanding exports to S-E Asia and Australia
- Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe
- LPGA plans 12-hole rounds in water-logged Bahamas
- Ryan Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial
- Kelly overcomes scare to clinch title in KLGCC
- Time to make amends Garcia wants to meet Woods to defuse racist row
- American Johnson back to defend Colonial crown
- Rain dampens debut of LPGA Bahamas event
- Tianlang adds another US event to schedule
- Clock ticking for next golden generation
- Nadal wants to create history at Roland Garros
- Serena out to tame French Open demons
- Zheng Jie stuns Wozniacki in Brussels
- Ashour racks up 38th successive win
- Nicol David sails into quarter-finals of British Open in 35 minutes
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- DJ stands by hubby in molest case
- Singapore GDP growth surprises, beats economists’ forecast of contraction
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Lower profit for Unico-Desa, hit by depressed CPO prices
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Daibochi expanding exports to S-E Asia and Australia
- TDM to expand plantation and hospital ops
- Lafarge Malayan Cement to finalise next expansion plans by August
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Google faces new federal antitrust probe
- Danajamin names non-exec director
RSS
