Illegal assisted reproductive doctors have unknown origins for underground garage surgery
Zhengzhou saves the dark net of assisted reproduction, the woman lost her egg after the operation; Zhengzhou health department investigated two companies involved
Screenshots of the personal homepages of Gu Liman and Zhao Shengnan on social software.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
The terms of the contract signed by Kangcheng Air and Li Fang.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
On the wall of the Reproductive Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zheng University, a small advertisement posted by the underground assisted reproductive center.
Beijing News reporter Wu Xiaofei
The interior of the underground surgical laboratory provided by an underground assisted reproductive institution is fully equipped.
Video screenshot
Nearly a year later, Li Fang still remembered the gray seven-seater business car.
Except for the cockpit, the glass in other positions is pasted with frosted paper, so you can't see the window.
The person who took her not only confiscated her mobile phone, but also put her on a black blindfold.
Li Fang was very scared and became angry, and finally did not wear the blindfold.
Sitting in this car, Li Fang was taken to an underground laboratory in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. It covers an area of five to six hundred square meters. It has an operating room, embryo culture room, rest room, cold storage, and ultrasound examination equipment.
Here, she stayed for about two hours and had an egg retrieval operation.
Li Fang is 33 years old this year and is not yet married. In order to have a biological baby, Li Fang chose Henan Kangcheng Aier Health Consulting Co., Ltd.-a company that claims to be able to perform IVF surgery on her and give her a baby.
However, after the egg retrieval operation, all the staff of the above-mentioned company suddenly lost contact, and the embryo transfer operation has not been carried out so far.
The Beijing News reporter's investigation found that relevant personnel of this company are still soliciting customers, and some people continue to promote IVF operations and sperm and egg sales to reporters.
Ruan Qilin, a professor at the School of Criminal Justice of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that such acts of underground assisted reproductive institutions may be suspected of illegal medical practice. If the circumstances are serious, criminal responsibility should be investigated.
On the evening of the 19th, the Health and Family Planning Supervision Bureau of Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Zhengzhou Health Supervision Bureau") Supervision Section Chief Cao Jiantao responded to the Beijing News reporter.
He stated that he has launched an investigation into the underground assisted reproductive company in the report. If the problem is true, he will deal with it strictly in accordance with the law and impose corresponding administrative penalties on the company involved.
IVF ads in the live broadcast room
At the beginning of 2020, Li Fang found a live broadcast room on a social software. The broadcasters "Mister Man" and "Brother Nan" often talked about the topic of IVF, and one of them could tell that he was pregnant.
The remarks column says "If you need to know about IVF babies, you can chat privately."
Li Fang was 32 years old at the time, with melon seeds, fair skin and long hair over the shoulders.
She is a lesbian, but desperately wants a child.
According to the Population and Family Planning Law and related normative documents, in order to perform IVF procedures in legal and formal assisted reproductive institutions in the country, marriage is a necessary condition.
After contacting the two, "Sister Man" told Li Fang that her real name was Gu Liman, and "Brother Nan" was Zhao Shengnan, who was her same-sex partner.
The studio mentioned in the live broadcast refers to Henan Kangcheng Aier Health Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kangcheng Aier").
"Tianyancha" shows that its business scope includes health management consulting, medical information consulting, beauty services, medical equipment leasing and maintenance, etc.; the legal representative is Gu Liman, who holds 60% of the shares, and Zhao Shengnan holds 40% of the shares.
Li Fang said that Gu Liman also mentioned a company-Henan Youerku Health Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Youerku"), saying that it is a partner of Kangcheng Air.
According to "Tianyan Check", Youerku's main business scope is health information consultation and beauty information consultation.
Li Fang learned from Gu Liman and Zhao Shengnan that Kangcheng Air and Youerku are engaged in IVF operations and sperm and egg sales.
Among them, Kangcheng Air is responsible for attracting customers from the gay community, and Youerku is responsible for the medical-related business such as egg ovulation promotion, sperm retrieval, embryo transfer and so on.
From January to March 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News contacted Gu Liman as a potential customer.
Gu Liman said that Kangcheng Air had cooperated with Youerku for more than a year before and after 2020, and the cooperative relationship between the two companies has now been dissolved.
Currently, she is still operating related businesses.
According to the 2001 "Management Measures for Human Assisted Reproductive Technology" issued by the former Ministry of Health, human assisted reproductive technology must be implemented in approved and registered medical institutions.
Without the approval of the health administrative department, no unit or individual may implement human assisted reproductive technology.
Gu Lei is the person in charge of an underground assisted reproductive institution in Zhengzhou, Henan. A reporter from the Beijing News has also communicated with him many times as a potential client.
In Gu Lei’s view, Gu Liman uses online live broadcast to find customers for his company, but this method is very risky: first, the company is easily exposed; second, social platforms have strict controls on medical content and often do not I passed.
Gu Lei said that his company mainly uses old customers to bring new customers and cooperative medical institutions to attract customers.
As he said, the Beijing News reporter contacted Gu Lei through an introduction by an "old customer".
In addition to the above methods, Gu Lei and other underground assisted reproductive institutions will also post small advertisements near regular hospitals.
On January 25, 2021, the reporter saw such a small advertisement in the bathroom of the Reproductive Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (hereinafter referred to as the "Zheng University First Affiliated Hospital") and in the small hotel near the hospital.
The advertisement reads "test tube", "surrogacy", "donor egg", "bag son" and other words, and attached a contact number.
A reporter from the Beijing News called a phone number from a small advertisement, and a male operator soon began to introduce surrogacy, IVF, and paid sperm donation.
He repeatedly emphasized on the phone, "As long as the money is okay, we can serve customers according to their needs."
According to Ruan Qilin, a professor at the School of Criminal Justice of China University of Political Science and Law, underground assisted reproductive surgery is a medical act, but these companies are likely to have no corresponding qualifications and are suspected of illegal medical practice.
"Generally, the market supervision department will impose administrative penalties on illegal medical practices, but criminal responsibility should be pursued if the circumstances are serious."
Doctor of unknown origin
On March 8, 2020, Li Fang met Zhao Shengnan and Youerku staff Wang Chunyue for the first time in Zhengzhou.
She said that she was subsequently taken to Zhengzhou U.S.-China Merchant Capital Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital (hereinafter referred to as "U.S.-China Merchant Capital") for a vaginal B-ultrasound examination.
The US-China business capital is located on Dongming Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City. It is a seven-story brown building.
The nameplates such as "Reproductive Center Union Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University" and "Henan Provincial Reproductive Hospital Union Hospital" are hung at the entrance of the hospital, which are very conspicuous.
According to industry and commerce data, this hospital is a private for-profit hospital affiliated to Zhengzhou US-China Business Metropolitan Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Co., Ltd.
The above-mentioned company was established in June 2015, and its business scope includes outpatient services such as obstetrics and gynecology, medical laboratory, medical imaging diagnosis and other medical activities.
In Li Fang's impression, as soon as businessmen from the United States and China entered the door, the staff smiled and greeted him, saying "Chunyue, you are here."
Later chat records between Li Fang and Zhao Shengnan mentioned that Li Fang did not say his real name when he went to the U.S. and China Merchants to check, but Wang Chunyue reported the name of "Li Huihui".
According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, "Li Huihui" is the actual controller of Youerku.
Gu Lei said that in most cases, when underground assisted reproductive institutions take customers to the hospital for physical examination, they will not report the customer’s real name, but will use the company staff’s name as the “identification mark”, saving the company and the hospital unnecessary Trouble.
Gu Lei does not shy away from the cooperation between underground assisted reproductive institutions and regular hospitals.
He said that many underground assisted reproductive institutions will cooperate with maternity and child health hospitals, obstetrics and gynecology hospitals, and obstetrics and gynecology departments of large general hospitals, and these hospitals will provide customers with IVF, surrogacy and other related medical examinations. "Similar medical examinations, we give money It is at least 50% higher than the average patient."
Li Fang recalled that from March 8th to April 9th, 2020, she underwent multiple physical examinations in both the US and China. The medical staff were very familiar with Wang Chunyue and others and provided various conveniences.
During a physical examination, there were many people on the first floor. Wang Chunyue took the key from the corner and took her to the second floor.
Li Fang therefore guessed that both the US and China have long-term cooperative relations with Kangcheng Air and Youerku.
In order to understand the business scope of the US-China Business Capital, on January 24, 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News went to the US-China Business Capital Clinic to inquire about IVF surgery and other issues as a patient.
A staff member who claimed to be an assistant to the dean said that the hospital mainly provides physical examination services before and after pregnancy, and specific operations must be performed in specialized hospitals.
On February 24, 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News called the office phone number on the official website of the US-China Business Capital and sent questions as required, hoping to find out whether the hospital is cooperating with Youer Inventory.
The wiring staff stated that they would give a reply after the feedback from the leaders of the hospital, and no reply was received as of the time of publication.
Li Fang remembered that on March 8, 2020, both the U.S. and China had a vagina B timeout. The doctor who checked her was a woman in her 40s. "She is less than 1.6 meters tall, black and fat, wearing glasses, Put your hair in a bun."
Since then, the doctor continued to serve Li Fang, helping her complete multiple physical examinations and egg retrieval operations in the underground laboratory.
However, until now, Li Fang didn't know who this doctor was, only that Wang Chunyue kept calling her "teacher".
Wang Chunyue also warned Li Fang not to ask for the doctor's name, identity, practice unit, contact information and other information; all contacts between Li Fang and the doctor were in the presence of Youerku staff.
Regarding whether the actions of these doctors are illegal, Ruan Qilin believes that the key lies in whether the doctors are qualified to practice.
"If a doctor does not have the qualifications to practice, or if a practicing doctor performs medical acts in a non-medical place, he will also be suspected of illegally practicing medicine. If the circumstances are serious, criminal responsibility shall be pursued."
Unspoken rules inside and outside the contract
Li Fang said that after the inspection on March 8, 2020, he was taken to the Kangcheng Air office in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City.
At that time, Kangcheng Air was in an office building on Xinyuan Road. Rainbow flags were hung everywhere in the elevator and in the office, and there were photos of activities of the lesbian relatives and friends association on the wall.
If it is in a regular hospital, the patient's husband and wife need to sign a series of documents before they formally enter the IVF procedure.
For example, according to the announcement of Tianjin First Central Hospital, the signed documents include the "Informed Consent for IVF Treatment", "Informed Consent for Fertilization-Embryo Transfer", "Lawful Commitment for Couples' Certificates", and "Informed Consent for Discarded Eggs, Surplus Sperm and Discarded Embryos" Book" etc.
However, Li Fang has never signed these documents, which means that her knowledge of IVF technology and surgical risks may not be sufficient, and the disposal of discarded or redundant sperm, eggs, and embryos has not been agreed.
In the evening, Li Fang and Kangcheng Aier signed an entrusted assisted reproduction agreement.
According to the agreement provided by Li Fang to a reporter from the Beijing News, Li Fang entrusted Kang Cheng Air to perform IVF surgery, including medical examination fees, ovulation promotion drugs, egg retrieval fees, embryo transfer fees and other expenses totaling 100,000 yuan; Your service lasts 30 days after the embryo transfer, until "the customer detects the fetal heart rate"; if the customer needs to freeze the embryo or perform a second transfer, an additional fee will be charged.
As for the sperm needed by the embryo, the contractual supplier is Li Fang.
But Li Fang said that the sperm was actually bought from Kangcheng Air, blindly selected, 10,000 yuan.
Gu Liman once told the Beijing News reporter that the source of blindly selected sperm was the National Sperm Bank, but he could not provide relevant certification, "We have a relationship with the hospital."
In addition to the blind selection of sperm, Gu Liman also told the Beijing News reporter that the source of sperm can be screened, but the price is higher. “Asian people donate 20,000 to 30,000 sperm at a time, and foreign sperm is up to 60,000. If you want to use sperm donors.” 'Interview', additional money will be added."
However, according to the "Management Measures for Human Sperm Banks" promulgated by the former Ministry of Health in 2001, sperm banks are strictly forbidden to supply sperm to underground assisted reproductive institutions.
The 2001 "Management Measures for Human Assisted Reproductive Technology" of the former Ministry of Health stipulated that the use of institutions that do not have the "Human Sperm Bank Approval Certificate" to provide sperm, as well as the sale of sperm, eggs, fertilized eggs, and embryos, shall be warned by the provincial government health department Or impose a fine of less than 30,000 yuan; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.
The transfer records provided by Li Fang show that on the night of signing the contract, she prepaid 50,000 yuan to Gu Liman's personal account.
Li Fang also said that as early as the afternoon before the signing of the contract, Zhao Shengnan and others urged her to get the first egg injection to promote the evacuation.
According to the director of the reproductive medicine center of a tertiary hospital in a certain tier city, stimulating injection is a necessary part of IVF treatment, and the purpose is to produce multiple mature follicles.
Under normal circumstances, an expert clinic and necessary examinations should be performed before the injection to promote the injection to rule out various conditions that are not suitable for surgery.
However, Li Fang didn't go through the outpatient clinic or examination, and started to get the injections after vaginal B-ultrasound.
From March 10, 2020, Li Fang stayed in a family hotel in Jinshui District under the arrangement of Zhao Shengnan. A nurse who called herself "Xiaoxue" came to the house every day to promote the injection.
The picture provided by Li Fang shows that the medicament in the needle is "Urine Follicle Stimulating Hormone for Injection", which is contained in a transparent glass bottle the size of a thumb; from March 10 to 22, 2020, she has injected more than 30 bottles of the above medicament in total .
Egg retrieval in underground laboratory
Li Fang's egg retrieval operation is scheduled for March 23, 2020.
At 6 o'clock in the afternoon that day, a Youerku staff took Li Fang into the gray business car at the beginning of the article.
Li Fang remembered that the car drove for about 20 minutes and came to a place where "except for a road, there is wasteland on all sides."
They changed a car, drove for another half an hour, and finally reached their destination.
"The laboratory is in an underground garage, and the car is directly driven in." Li Fang said. The entire site is about five to six hundred square meters, and the operating room, embryo culture room, rest room, cold storage, and ultrasound examination equipment are all included. Complete.
When Li Fang arrived, Wang Chunyue and the female doctor named her had already arrived and waited.
Before Li Fang put on the surgical gown, the doctor put her on the operating table.
According to Gu Lei, for underground assisted reproductive institutions, such well-equipped laboratories are the most important of all links, sometimes costing tens of millions of yuan.
In order to ensure safety, the laboratory will be located in a relatively secret place. Only a few employees within the company know about it, and customers can only enter during surgery.
Gu Lei showed a laboratory video to the Beijing News reporter. The laboratory in the video was divided into several white functional areas, each of which displayed different instruments and equipment.
For example, there are microscopes and embryo culture dishes on the operating table of the embryo culture room; B-ultrasound machines and display screens are displayed in the operating room.
Regarding the embryo room of the Center for Reproductive Medicine, the aforementioned director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine stated that the state has high basic thresholds and inspection standards for its equipment, sanitation and other environments.
For example, sperm and eggs must be stored in an ultra-low temperature liquid nitrogen environment, and the embryo culture room must be kept sterile.
Assisted reproductive technology is a restricted technology, and the relevant departments of the National Health Commission will conduct a biennial verification of the reproductive medicine center to ensure that all conditions can meet the relevant requirements.
In underground assisted reproductive institutions, these requirements are almost impossible to meet.
Li Fang recalled that before the operation, the female doctor gave her local anesthesia, but she still felt the pain during the egg retrieval.
After the egg retrieval operation, she did not see any records related to the operation, and she did not even know how many eggs were retrieved.
Judging from the WeChat chat records she provided, Zhao Shengnan explained to her on the day after the egg retrieval: a total of 16 eggs were retrieved, "2 are raw (that is, developing follicles), and 14 are cooked".
Long before the egg retrieval, Li Fang was told that the thickness of the endometrial wall was not up to standard and that embryo transfer operations could not be performed within a short period of time after the egg retrieval.
In addition, the egg retrieval also caused her abdominal pain and difficulty defecation for many days, so she had to go home to recuperate.
"Even in the formal top three public hospitals, the IVF treatment's egg retrieval operation has potential risks, such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome caused by ovulation. And underground institutions often cater to the customer's desire for children, and some will be in the short term. Repeated internal high-dose to promote excretion, leading to increased risk." The aforementioned director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine told the Beijing News reporter that the two symptoms of Li Fang's surgery are likely to be side effects caused by ovarian stimulation.
The egg is missing, and the embryo transfer has failed
In Li Fang's narrative, on April 8, 2020, after returning to Lu'an for more than ten days to recuperate, she finally received a WeChat notification from Zhao Shengnan, asking her to return to Zhengzhou to prepare for the embryo transfer operation.
The next morning, she came to the US and China for a medical examination again, and Wang Chunyue told her that the medical examination was up to the standard and she could be operated on.
On the afternoon of April 9, when Li Fang approached Wang Chunyue to find out about the operation schedule, he suddenly discovered that the WeChat and mobile phone numbers had been hacked by Wang, and all contacts including Zhao Shengnan, Gu Liman, and Xiaoxue were also lost.
She quickly rushed to the Kangcheng Air and Youerku office areas a month ago, but saw the people from the two companies go to the empty building. Even the rainbow flag on the wall was cleared, and the whereabouts of her 16 eggs were also unknown.
Li Fang suddenly thought that the day after the egg retrieval operation, she had seen a paid egg donation advertisement in Gu Liman and others' circle of friends. The age, height, and occupation of the egg donor were very similar to Li Fang.
At that time, she felt that this was just a coincidence, and did not ask Gu Liman and others.
However, in retrospect, she suspected that she had been "stolen".
On April 9, 2020, Li Fang dialed 110 and then called the police at the Public Security Management Service Brigade of the Jinshui District Public Security Bureau of Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau located on Fengchan Road.
On April 27, 2020, Gu Liman and Zhao Shengnan asked Li Fang to meet on Xinyuan Road on the grounds of discussing a solution to the contradiction. The two sides had a physical conflict.
Li Fang stated that on the second day of being beaten, she accepted Gu Liman, Wang Chunyue and others' compensation of 125,000 yuan under the mediation of the police. “In addition to the more than 90,000 that I have already spent, the remaining tens of thousands are considered to be make up."
On March 16, 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News asked Guo Mou, a staff member of the Fengchan Road Public Security Management Service Brigade, who was receiving the police at the time, to verify Li Fang's underground egg retrieval operation and related compensation matters.
Guo stated that he was aware of the disputes between Li Fang and Kangchengair and Youerku, but the compensation package of 125,000 yuan was "they reached an agreement privately, and our police did not participate."
As for why companies such as Kangcheng Air and Youerku suddenly "ran off" and whether the police have investigated the results, Guo said that "our police have discipline and it is inconvenient to accept interviews."
On March 18 and 19, 2021, reporters from the Beijing News called the Propaganda Section of the Jinshui Branch of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau several times, hoping to learn about the loss of Li Fang’s egg and the public security agency’s investigation results of Kangcheng Air and Youerku.
The staff member stated that "I don't know the specific situation, and I need to contact the police officer to respond afterwards." As of press time, there was no further response.
On February 24, 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News asked Youerku to verify the results of Li Fang's egg retrieval operation, the reasons for the unsuccessful embryo transfer, and compensation issues. As of press time, no reply has been received.
Gu Liman told a reporter from the Beijing News who had hidden his identity that Li Fang had never performed an egg retrieval operation in Kangcheng Aier due to physical limitations, and the "stolen eggs" was even more vain.
After the egg loss incident, Li Fang also reported the situation to the Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission in May 2020.
According to the Henan Radio and Television People's Livelihood Channel, Cao Jiantao, Section Chief of the Seventh Supervision Section of the Health and Family Planning Supervision Bureau of the Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission, once said that an investigation will be launched into the company involved.
On January 24, 2021, a reporter from the Beijing News visited the former offices of Kangcheng Air and Youerku in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou City, which were still vacant at the time.
Except for two sanitation workers who were moving idle office supplies, no one came in and out, and the corridor was full of dust.
But from Gu Liman's circle of friends, she is still operating related businesses.
At the beginning of March 2021, she also urged reporters through WeChat to do the IVF as soon as possible, and "the price will be higher" in the future; if you want to go to Zhengzhou, you must inform in advance and she will come to meet you.
It has been nearly a year since the underground egg retrieval operation last year, and Li Fang thought it was over.
But in January of this year, her two WeChat accounts suddenly received verification from strangers’ friends, and they both asked her in the remarks, "Do you want to be an IVF?"
Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission stated that it has launched an investigation into the company involved
On the evening of the 19th, Cao Jiantao, Section Chief of the Seventh Supervision Section of the Health and Family Planning Supervision Bureau of the Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission, told the Beijing News reporter that the leaders of the Zhengzhou Health Supervision Bureau immediately summoned relevant law enforcement personnel to study and judge the case.
At present, the Zhengzhou Health Supervision Bureau has launched an investigation into the medical qualifications of Henan Kangcheng Aier Health Consulting Co., Ltd. and Henan Youerku Health Consulting Co., Ltd. involved in the report, and investigations into the staff of the two companies and the medical personnel involved in the case.
In addition, the bureau also sent law enforcement officers to find out the office locations of the two companies.
"If it is verified that the problem is true, we will strictly handle it in accordance with the law and impose corresponding administrative penalties on the two companies involved." Cao Jiantao said.
Cao Jiantao said that in July 2020, the Zhengzhou Health Supervision Bureau received a report similar to the above report, and the leaders of the bureau attached great importance to it. On the night of receiving the report, they joined the public security agency to the scene of the incident to understand the situation.
At that time, the person involved had left the scene, but the health supervision department has been following up and investigating the matter.
In January 2021, Zhengzhou once again discovered a similar underground assisted reproduction problem, and the Zhengzhou Municipal Health Commission immediately launched a joint investigation mechanism.
At that time, the Municipal Health Commission, together with the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, and the Municipal Cyberspace Administration of China, convened several joint investigation meetings to discuss how to ban underground assisted reproduction practices from the root cause.
Cao Jiantao said that there are indeed some difficulties in investigating such institutions, such as finding, obtaining evidence, and investigating.
However, the Zhengzhou Municipal Health and Health Commission has always adopted a "zero tolerance" attitude towards such problems, "discovering them together, handling them together, and never tolerating them."
(Li Fang and Gu Lei in the text are pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Wu Xiaofei