Several Australian parents cannot bring their babies home after the world-renowned fertility clinic in Crete they used to have their children by surrogates was raided by Greek police over claims of human trafficking and fraud.
The Australian understands around eight newborns – including a number of Australian babies – are being detained by the Greek government in a high-security section of a Crete hospital.
Greek Police allege the clinic was a criminal organisation that exploited 169 foreign vulnerable women, forcing them to be egg donors or surrogates, and defrauded patients through sham embryo transfers and engaging in illegal adoptions.
The clinic’s entire medical team have been arrested and imprisoned, accused of child trafficking, while police continue their investigation.
Sam Everingham, the global director of Growing Families, a not-for-profit organisation that supports families with surrogacy, said Mediterranean Fertility Institute was the largest provider of surrogacy in Greece – and Australians comprised half of their clientele.
“They would have been doing 300 cases a year. It would be approximately 150 Australians affected who either have embryos there or births on the way,” Everingham said.
Centre for Infertility Solutions Director Nicholas Lolatgis had been recommending Australian couples dealing with infertility to use the Mediterranean Fertility Institute.
[Ed: Since it’s illegal for residents of the ACT, NSW and QLD to enter into commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas, when are Australian authorities going to commence prosecuting those Australians involved rather than rubber stamping these ‘adoptions’?]