30-07-2025
IVF centres in Vizag under scanner
Visakhapatnam: Following the illegal surrogacy and baby selling racket being exposed at Universal Srushti Fertility Centres, District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) P Jagadeeswara Rao issued a warning to the hospital management of fertility centres that stringent action would be taken if they fail to adhere to norms.
As the illegal surrogacy, baby-selling racket busted in Hyderabad, the health officials in Visakhapatnam got on their toes and launched raids in various fertility centres. Violating norms and operating the IVF centres without license, the administrators of the Shrishti Universal Fertility Centre in Secunderabad cheated childless couples both in AP and Telangana.
As the Hyderabad police exposed a surrogacy scam, police mentioned that victims have been coming forward to file complaints in the Telugu states. A childless couple approached Dr Namrata of Srushti Fertility Centre for surrogacy. The infant was bought for Rs 90,000 but sold as an IVF child for Rs 35 lakh to the couple by producing fake documents. The infant was reportedly bought from a couple belonging to the economically weaker section but given to the childless couple as an IVF child.
Busting the racket, the Hyderabad police took eight people into custody, including the prime accused in the case A Namratha of Universal Srushti Fertility Centre. It is found that the centre was operating in various cities, including Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, without a license.
Irregularities were exposed when the victims got suspicious about the child's appearance and sought for a DNA test. DM&HO Jagadeeswara Rao held a meeting with the management of IVF and surrogacy centres on Tuesday. He warned that strict action will be taken if the rules are violated and expressed anger over the Srushti Fertility Centre for continuing its operation in Visakhapatnam despite the license being expired. He mentioned that the health officials provided required information to the Hyderabad police.
