Escaping the “human egg farm”: three women escape a shocking human trafficking ring

Three Thai women have escaped a horrific human trafficking ring being referred to as a “human egg farm” in the Transcaucasian country Georgia. Their testimonies reveal that in this brutal operation, women are held captive, injected with hormones, and their eggs are forcibly extracted for black market in-vitro fertilization (IVF) sales.

A survivor, who bought her freedom and returned to Thailand, tipped off an NGO which helped secure the release of the women. However, there are still hundreds of others who have been trafficked and are still trapped in this compound.

Imprisonment, forced medical procedures, and the threat of arrest

According to The Express Tribune, the victims were lured through fake surrogate job offers on Facebook, and were promised 400,000 to 600,000 baht, the equivalent of $12,000 to $18,000 USD. But upon arrival, they were imprisoned with over 100 other women, had their passports confiscated, subjected to forced medical procedures, and threatened with arrest if they returned to Thailand.

One of the women, who did not disclose her name, spoke at a press conference in Thailand wearing a face mask and hat. As written in a report by Reuters:

She said she responded to a social media advertisement for surrogate mothers who would live with families and be paid 25,000 baht ($742.94) a month. She said that after agreeing she was brought to Georgia, via Dubai and Armenia, where two Chinese nationals escorted her to a house.

She said: “They took us to a house where there were 60 to 70 Thai women. The women there told us there was no (surrogacy) contracts or parents.”

The women, she said, “would be injected to get treatment, anesthetized and their eggs would be extracted with a machine. After we got this information and it was not the same as the advertisement, we got scared, we tried to contact people back home.”

At the press conference, the women also revealed how they had feigned illness to appear weak to avoid having their eggs harvested.

Behind the rescue mission

Pavena Hongsakul, the founder of the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, a Thai-based NGO which helped return the three women, said she learned about this operation through a survivor who had escaped and returned to Thailand in September of 2024 after paying the traffickers about 70,000 baht ($2,053 USD).

Pavena estimates around 100 more Thai women were trafficked to Georgia, and that she believes that after the eggs were harvested, they were sold and trafficked in other countries for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). She was instrumental in getting foreign affairs police and Interpol to coordinate the release of the three women and launch an investigation.

With the continuation of this investigation, the Foundation hopes to rescue more women. However, given that Georgia does not have specific laws regarding surrogacy, many companies who advertise their services for arranging surrogacy are considered legal contracts.

Take action against organ trafficking

This harrowing account of human trafficking and forced egg harvesting underscores the urgent need for global action against organ trafficking and exploitation. Freedom United’s campaign on forced organ harvesting seeks to raise awareness, drive policy changes, and support survivors of these brutal practices. Join our efforts by taking action and signing our petition.