Police waiting for green light to act on egg trafficking
By Argyro Nicolaou,
CyprusMail
| 09. 16. 2010
POLICE are waiting for the green light from Ukrainian authorities in order to begin an investigation into claims of human eggs trafficking at a fertility clinic near the village of Zygi.The clinic was run by a staff comprised mostly by Russians, with donors being mainly women from Eastern Europe.
Suspicion of illegal trade in human eggs came about after the testimonies of three Ukrainian women in their thirties, all of whom were working in Cyprus legally. According to police, these women sold their eggs illegally - in violation of Cypriot and European law which says that donors should only have their expenses covered.
Officially, the clinic is under investigation for failing to provide full data for the tracing of embryos and gametes. According to a police spokesperson, the clinic closed in May this year after an edict from the health ministry.
Health Ministry Inspector Pampos Charilaou said the clinic was forced to close as it failed to present an archive listing the origins of ovules, who owned them and the conditions under which they were kept.
“Without traceability of the...
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