- British couples have lost tens of thousands of pounds following the sudden collapse of Portugal-based IVF clinic Ovom Care, which filed for insolvency in late August and left an estimated 200 patients, around 60 per cent of whom are British, stranded in the middle of their treatment.
- The clinic continued taking upfront payments of up to £10,000 and administering procedures right up until days before declaring insolvency, leaving many patients ineligible for bank or credit card refunds because they had transferred funds directly to avoid currency exchange fees.
- London-based clinic Avenues, led by Ovom co-founder Dr Cristina Hickman, has offered to take over care for affected British patients, with Dr Hickman criticising the venture capital-backed business model and describing the sudden closure as the biggest global disaster in the IVF sector.
- To safeguard patients' biological assets, Portugal's assisted reproduction regulator CNPMA and the court-appointed insolvency administrator authorised the emergency transfer of all stored eggs, sperm, embryos, and medical records to AVA Clinic in Lisbon.
- Ovom Care chief executive Felicia von Reden apologised for the distress caused and stated that patients seeking refunds for unprovided treatments must register their claims with the insolvency administrator, as judicial review proceedings continue in both Portugal and Germany.
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