ZAGREB - The fate of some 500 frozen embryos missing from a Zagreb hospital has given fresh impetus to calls for a review of Croatia`s out-dated laws to prevent a "black market" in artificial fertilisation.
Croatia, which hopes to enter the European Union by the end of the decade, has been struggling for eight years to adopt a new law on medically assisted reproduction but it has still not been updated from the late 1970s.
"Croatia is most probably one of the last countries in Europe that still has not regulated in legal terms this both medically and ethically sensitive issue," Justice Minister Vesna Skare-Ozbolt warned recently.
"The state has absolutely no control on medically assisted reproduction, which enters into the domain of a black market involving dozens of thousands of euros (dollars)."
The current law dates back to 1978, when Louise Brown, the world`s first "test-tube baby", was born in Britain. Croatia`s first IVF (in vitro fertilisation) baby was born only five years later.
A new bill was formulated in September but was sent back to the health ministry for amendments, many believe due to strong opposition from the influential Catholic Church.
The draft law allowed for donations of eggs and embryos as well as infertility treatments for single women.
After some 500 embryos from Croatian, Austrian, Bosnian and Swiss couples went missing from a Zagreb hospital recently, Health Minister Neven Ljubicic promised a new law would be adopted by the end of the year.
"An egg is being sold for some 1,000 euros (1,300 dollars) on the Croatian black market and six clinics, four state-owned and two private, are specialized in medically assisted reproduction methods," explained Skare-Ozbolt.
"It is interesting to note that the owners of these private clinics are also members of public hospitals` management."
The embryos reportedly disappeared from the Petrova hospital, where they had been kept for gynaecologist Asim Kurjak and a private clinic owned by his wife, Biserka Funduk-Kurjak, according to a health ministry probe.
Kurjak has been under investigation since mid-2003 on suspicion of implanting donated frozen embryos without the knowledge of the donors and in breach of Croatian law.
If found guilty Kurjak and his associates could be sentenced for up to eight years for "illegal implantation of human organs".
"We know that at least three babies were born with illegal IVF treatment," Albert Despot, a doctor who took part in the health ministry probe, told the Novi List daily.
"We know their full names but those who remain unknown are women whose eggs were taken for fertilization.
"Among women who gave birth to those three children, one was 51 years old when the embryo was transferred for implantation, and the authorities are interested notably in her case."
Official estimates show that some 2,000 to 3,000 women in Croatia`s population of 4.4 million have infertility problems and are potential candidates for IVF.
Due to the success rate of between five and 25 percent, depending notably on a woman`s age, several attempts are usually needed for successful IVF treatment.
03/05/2005 14:03 GMT