Romanian police have detained an Israeli gynaecologist, his son and a local employee on suspicion of trafficking women's eggs for their IVF clinic in Bucharest. Another 22 people are under investigation.

"The group was focussing on identifying foreign couples eager to resort to reproduction techniques and on grabbing Romanian (women) aged 18-30 to donate ova for 800 to 1,000 lei (US$270 to $335)," the department for fighting organised crime told the media. (The going price for eggs in the US is anywhere between US$10,000 and $50,000.)

According to the Romanian media, the Sabyc fertility clinic had carried out about 1,200 in vitro fertilisation procedures since opening in 1999. It catered mainly for Israeli, Italian and British couples who reportedly paid 10,000 to 15,000 euros for treatment. The women who allegedly received payment for egg donations reportedly included university students and women from the Roma (Gypsy) community. ~ Haaretz.com, July 22; Reuters, July 20