Three Thai women have escaped a horrific human trafficking ring being referred to as a “human egg farm” in Georgia. Their testimonies reveal that in this horrific operation, women are held captive, injected with hormones, and their eggs are forcibly extracted for black market in-vitro fertilization (IVF) sales. Their freedom was prompted by an NGO who had been tipped off to this operation from a survivor who had been released and returned to Thailand after buying her freedom months prior. However, there are still hundreds of women 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 another victim who had escaped and returned to Thailand in September of 2024 after paying the traffickers about 70,000 baht ($2,053 USD).
Pavena estimates that there are around 100 more trafficked women remained in Georgia, and that she believes that after the eggs were harvested, they were sold and trafficked in other countries for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Pavena was instrumental in getting foreign affairs police and Interpol to coordinate the release of the three women and launch an investigation.
According to the Pavena Foundation’s records, 257 Thais fell victim to human traffickers in 2024, of which 53 were found in Thailand and 204 in other countries. The foundation helped rescue 152 of them. With the continuation of this investigation, they are hoping to rescue other 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.
* Freedom United is a global community that unites individuals and organizations in the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery, registered in the U.S. as a nonprofit.