IVF/Shutterstock
At the Bat Yam Magistrate's Court at this time (Monday) a discussion is taking place regarding the extension of the detention of the two suspects of importing fertilized eggs from Georgia that carried a genetic disease, and inserting them into patients.
It appears that the suspects, a doctor who runs an in vitro fertilization clinic as well as a laboratory manager at a hospital in the center of the country, will be released to house arrest.
There is an agreement between the parties on the release of the suspects to their homes, but not on the restrictive conditions.
The representative of the investigating unit presented various evidence to the court, including genetic tests of eggs that were returned to one of the complainants, from which it appears that they carried the gene for the disease.
The judge noted that the investigation at its beginning and later on may shed light and incriminate other figures and factors in the Ministry of Health and perhaps even ease the suspicion against the two arrested suspects.
The doctor who runs a private clinic in the center is represented by Attorney Shai Roda and Attorney Yaron Forer, while the director of the laboratory is represented by Attorney Inbar Keenan from the Public Defender's Office. Attorney Keenan said: "I really have to say that I cannot understand why my client is coming To the point that he wasn't released at the station?"
As a reminder, the police and the Ministry of Health announced this morning that they opened an investigation into the suspicion of importing fertilized eggs from Georgia that carried the genetic disease hemophilia B, after learning of two Israeli patients in whom the infected eggs were implanted and at least one baby was born with a deformity.
It is estimated that other women were injured in the affair.
The eggs were extracted from women in Georgia and returned to several women in Israel, although according to the Ministry of Health, "the information about the disease was known to teams abroad and in Israel."
Fertilization (illustration)/ShutterStock
Gali (pseudonym), who is in her fifth month of pregnancy through the clinic, told Walla!: "I'm really anxious and don't know who to turn to. The offices and their secretaries don't answer either, now the Ministry of Health doesn't answer either and refers me to the police. I would have expected them to at least publish dates of the tainted donation that was made so that it could make it easier for other women who did on other dates."
"I have no confidence in them," Gali added.
"I do all the tests independently in the hope that everything is fine. The donation cost me a lot of money, the various tests will also cost. It's really hard mentally to be in the fifth month of a pregnancy that came after years of treatments and to find out even after you got pregnant that it's really not safe."
Gali said that even if you do an extended amniotic fluid genetic screening test now, it will take a few weeks for answers to come.
"Who will bear the mental burden for that?" she said.
Lior (pseudonym), tells Walla!: "I received five embryos in December, and two weeks ago I was supposed to undergo a recall. The day before, my doctor called and said that the recall was canceled, and that the Ministry of Health issued a directive that it is not possible to carry out a recall from this laboratory because of some genetic carrier. I was
very upset and spoke With the doctor who promised and said that he no longer works with them, that they are just piling up difficulties and that there is some minor issue of carriers that he needs to resolve with the Ministry of Health. He said that there is no problem that he will fly me to Batumi at his expense and that he will transfer the embryos to the hospital of his expense.
Sounds nice and reliable to me and he kind of calmed me down.
When I spoke with the person I work with, she said that they would do whatever I needed, but only to sign a document in front of the hospital that I waive responsibility for what would happen if I were pregnant
.
Today I thank the clinic that thanks to them I did not undergo a repeat.
I have 5 fetuses that I do not intend to use even if the Ministry of Health has already informed all the victims.
I have no credibility in this company anymore.
is nothing.
I was made to feel that I should trust them and that it was something small.
It's a terrible injustice and we are mostly women over 40 and it's such a sensitive and delicate subject of being mothers for the first time. It's unforgivable. I believe they knew about it and that the money was right in front of their eyes. Didn't they know that an investigation had been opened? Why didn't we inform the patients? ".
Neta (pseudonym) said: "The conduct there is really terrible. I lost a lot of money and time on them. I came to them because of the war. They claimed that they had permission to import embryos, and then after I waited more than two months for them to approve them at the hospital, and I already had embryos, it turned out that they did not Approval".
More on the same topic:
fertilization
in vitro fertilization
Georgia
Eggs
neglect