London. A major and serious fraud has come to light involving at least 30 families traveling from Britain to Northern Cyprus for IVF treatment under medical tourism. These families had selected donors from European countries for their children, but DNA tests have shockingly revealed that the genetic source of the children comes from people from Turkey and Arab countries.
Fake donors and international fraud
The sensational fraud was exposed when DNA tests on 11 children revealed that they were not at all the sperm-egg donors their parents had carefully selected. The parents had opted for fully vetted and healthy donors from Western European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. According to investigative reports, almost half of the cases of this international fraud are related to ‘Dogus IVF Centre’ alone.
False advertisement of blacklisted clinic
The world’s largest sperm bank ‘Cryos International’ has clarified that it had blacklisted Dogus Clinic in the year 2016 itself and never supplied any sperm there. Despite this, the clinic continued to defraud innocent couples seeking to have children by falsely advertising its official affiliation with Cryos for years. This choice, made by the parents on the basis of the donor’s medical history, appearance, education and hobbies, was related to the human rights of the children, so that they can know their biological roots when they turn 18 years of age. The use of fake donors has directly violated the basic human rights of children.
Northern Cyprus becomes a risky destination
The British Fertility Society has called the whole affair an organized criminal network, gross negligence and institutional fraud in the cases of more than 30 children. Northern Cyprus, which is under Turkish occupation, is becoming a popular but extremely risky center for IVF treatment due to its very lax laws. According to global fertility reports, every year 5 thousand to 8 thousand foreign couples come here for treatment because the treatment is cheap. In the last 10 years, 50,000 to 70,000 foreign nationals have undergone IVF in the clinics here, with the largest number coming from Britain, Germany and France.
