In vitro scandal in Chania: Women testify that eggs were never retrieved
Women who attended a fertility clinic in Chania have testified that they underwent false in vitro fertilisation procedures. The case has now reached the courts.
Women believed for years they had undergone in vitro fertilisation — no egg was ever retrieved
Heartbreaking testimonies from women who attended a fertility clinic in Chania are presented by cretapost.gr, in an extensive report on a case that has now been brought before the courts. According to Ethnos, clinic staff members have been referred to trial, as police investigation revealed that in many cases no eggs were ever retrieved, despite patients believing they were undergoing standard egg retrievals and embryo transfers.
These women had paid thousands of euros, had received pharmaceutical treatment and had gone through painful procedures, both physically and psychologically. When officers from the Organised Crime Division of Crete informed them of the investigation's findings, many confronted a reality they could not have imagined: on the dates when they believed they had undergone egg retrieval, no egg had been taken.
"These people toy with human suffering"
A 45-year-old woman had undergone a total of three in vitro fertilisation attempts at the clinic — or at least that is what she believed. Police informed her that the first two times no egg had been retrieved, whilst on the third occasion the egg intended for fertilisation was ultimately not fertilised, resulting in no embryo transfer taking place.
In her testimony, the woman describes how the doctor appeared enthusiastic and assured them that everything was going well. After the second failure, he suggested to them the purchase of eggs from a donor. "He told us that in order to definitely have children, we would need to proceed with buying eggs from another woman," she testifies. The cost of these eggs came to €3,100. The attempt again failed.
"My health was at risk, whether from the anaesthesia or from the medication I received. These medications are dangerous and I do not know if something will happen to me in the future. These people toy with human suffering and our lives, with profit as their only aim. They must be punished exemplarily," she states characteristically in her testimony.
"I thought it was God's will that I would not have another child"
Nearly four years after having her first child through in vitro fertilisation, a 31-year-old woman attended the same clinic again to have a second child. After undergoing pharmaceutical treatment, she underwent two embryo transfers which, she was told, failed.
The announcement of the police investigation left her in shock. "I know nothing. I am shocked. I am learning this now from you. My husband and I believed it was God's will that we would not have another child and we even had the thought of adopting a child. They informed me that everything had gone well, I had three eggs, but there was no positive result," the woman testifies. Her statement encapsulates in the most heartbreaking way the magnitude of the upheaval experienced by hundreds of couples.
"It is inhuman" — doctor among the victims
Among the women who testified is a doctor who had attended the clinic seeking to have a child. In her second attempt, in April 2023, she underwent anaesthesia and was informed that two eggs had been retrieved, one of which was deemed suitable for fertilisation with donor sperm.
When police informed her that no egg retrieval had taken place on that day, the doctor was taken aback. "It seems tragic to me, I have difficulty believing it. It is inhuman. They told me that day that they had taken two eggs from me," she states in her testimony.
"I feel devastated — I lost considerable years from my life"
Another woman describes undergoing two egg retrievals and four embryo transfers during the period 2015–2018. Each time she was forced to take numerous medications that caused her serious side effects, dizziness and nausea. Police informed her that on at least one of her visits to the clinic, in June 2018, no egg retrieval had taken place.
Devastation, shock and anger
The revelation of the truth brought psychological collapse for many of the women. Some burst into tears, others decided to pursue those responsible legally, whilst for some the case brought old traumas to the surface. All had undergone painful procedures, had believed in the results they were informed of and had spent significant sums of money.
It was not, that is, that their attempts had failed, as they had believed for years. There were not even the minimum conditions for the embryo transfers that had been described to them to take place. The picture they had of what they had experienced collapsed completely.
The case is now before the courts, with clinic staff members having been referred to trial.
Source: Ethnos