A deeply disturbing case of human trafficking and exploitation has emerged from Georgia, where over 100 women were held captive and forced into a human egg harvesting operation. The women, mostly from Thailand, were lured with false promises of lucrative surrogacy jobs, only to find themselves imprisoned and subjected to repeated medical procedures without their consent. The story, first reported by Bild and Thai Examiner, has shed light on a growing pattern of abuse in the global fertility industry.
The victims were recruited through Facebook advertisements, offering salaries between €11,500 and €17,000 to work as surrogates for couples unable to conceive. Believing they had secured legitimate employment, they travelled to Georgia, where their expenses and passport applications were covered by the organisation behind the scheme. Upon arrival, however, it became clear that the job offer was a ruse. The women were taken to isolated properties where they were given hormone treatments to stimulate egg production and forced to undergo egg retrieval procedures monthly.
One of the survivors, speaking at a press conference in Bangkok, described the conditions inside the so-called ‘egg farm’ as inhumane. “We were treated like cattle,” she said, as reported by Bild, recounting how the women were subjected to constant medical interventions without proper care or compensation. Some women were left without any payment at all, despite enduring repeated procedures. Those who attempted to leave were informed they would have to pay €2,000 to secure their release.
It was only when one woman managed to escape and alert Thai authorities that the operation was exposed. She contacted Pavena Hongsakula, the founder of a Thai foundation dedicated to protecting women and children from trafficking. The foundation worked alongside Interpol to investigate the case and, on January 30, coordinated the rescue of three Thai women from the facility. However, it remains unclear how many women are still being held, with Thai authorities stating that the investigation is ongoing.
The involvement of organised crime in the fertility industry is not new, but this case highlights the extreme lengths traffickers are willing to go to exploit vulnerable women. Reports indicate that the operation in Georgia was run by a criminal network led by Chinese nationals, with eggs harvested from the women likely being sold on the black market for use in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures. The Thai Examiner described the network as a “Chinese mafia ring” engaged in large-scale human trafficking.
Survivors of the scheme have reported severe health issues due to the forced medical procedures, with some left in states of distress and physical exhaustion. The hormone treatments and repeated extractions can cause long-term reproductive damage, but traffickers showed no concern for the wellbeing of the women they imprisoned.
Thailand has strict laws against commercial surrogacy, banning the practice entirely in 2015. This legal restriction has pushed some hopeful parents to seek surrogacy and egg donation services in other countries with more lenient regulations. Georgia, which has become a hotspot for international surrogacy, is now facing increased scrutiny following these revelations. While surrogacy itself is legal in Georgia, this case underscores the dangers of an unregulated fertility market, where women’s bodies are commodified and exploited for profit.
For now, the rescued women are receiving support from the Pavena Foundation, but the fight to bring justice to all victims of this operation is far from over. The case has raised urgent questions about international surrogacy laws and the extent of trafficking networks operating under the guise of fertility services. Authorities in Thailand and Georgia have promised further investigations, but with an unknown number of women still unaccounted for, the scale of this exploitation may only be beginning to surface.