Breaking News: Wuhan Underground Fertility Clinic Scandal Leaves Over a Hundred Families in Despair
In a recent viral news story about “no successful cases out of over a hundred attempts at underground test tube fertilization, Wuhan underground test tube organization explodes,” the Wuhan underground assisted reproductive institution, “Wuhan Bewang Medical Consulting Service Co., Ltd.” (referred to as Bewang), has suddenly gone missing. Multiple executives have been taken away by the police, leaving infertile families from across the country not only shattered in their dreams of having children but also stranded without anyone to turn to for help.
According to a report by the “Huashang Daily” on July 22nd, several families seeking fertility treatments from Gansu, Hainan, Guangdong, Hubei, and other places have recently rushed to Wuhan to seek justice and have reported the situation to relevant departments in Hubei. Some advocates went to the location of Bewang’s company and found the office area deserted, doors locked, office tables covered in dust with employee items left behind, but the computers had all been taken away, and the potted plants had withered, indicating that the business had been shut down for some time.
The building management stated that the lease was signed by the “Wuhan Xiaohemiao Medical Consulting Service Co., Ltd.” associated with Bewang and rent had been paid until the end of July this year, with no outstanding payments. Prior to this, several victims from out of town had come looking for answers. The operating supervisor on that floor said that the local police station had instructed them that as long as this company was in operation, they should inform the police station immediately.
In early June this year, Bewang suddenly disappeared. Victims claimed that at that time, there were rumors circulating that a young “egg donor” had died in an accident and several executives of Bewang and related companies were taken away by the police. This sparked a wave of customer advocacy and further investigation which revealed more suspicious details.
Victims revealed that Bewang and “Wuhan Xiaohemiao Medical Consulting Service Co., Ltd.” were actually controlled by the same group of people.
Several victims disclosed that they had to wait 2 to 5 years for egg retrieval at public hospitals, and due to factors like their age, ovarian function decline, or being single, they eventually opted for Bewang’s underground test tube services.
It was introduced that Bewang had been promoting itself for a long time through short video platforms and social media with slogans like “high success rate,” “no waiting in line,” and “refund whether successful or not,” attracting customers and arranging one-on-one consultations with advisors.
Many victims stated that the company deliberately chose to locate its office opposite the people’s hospital of Wuhan University and staff accompanied them to the hospital for blood draws, tests, and consultations, creating the impression of a collaboration with public hospitals.
Mr. Chen from Hainan, aged 52, and his wife, who hoped to have another child after the loss of their only son, signed a second-generation test tube agreement with Bewang at the end of 2025, paying over 100,000 RMB in total.
Ms. Wang, 33, from Gansu, chose a third-generation test tube treatment due to premature ovarian failure. Apart from paying a service fee of 120,000 RMB, she also paid 40,000 RMB to the egg donor, totaling approximately 157,000 RMB.
However, most individuals, after undergoing stimulation, egg retrieval, embryo culture, and transplantation, did not achieve successful pregnancies. The institution went missing in early June this year.
Several victims mentioned that embryo transplantation was not carried out in a legitimate medical institution. The day before each transplant, they were arranged to stay in a hotel, escorted by private cars the next morning, without their husbands and phones. The car windows were covered with dark tinted films, making it almost impossible to see outside. They even changed cars multiple times along the way, ultimately being taken to basements or residential homes for procedures.
Ms. Song from Xiaogan in Hubei stated that she underwent two transplants in a basement and on the third floor of a residential home, with about 5 individuals in each group and each surgery lasting about 30 minutes.
Ms. Chen from Wuhan also mentioned that both of her transplants were not conducted in hospitals but in basements of tin houses and residential homes, where medical staff wore masks and hats throughout without revealing their true identities.
After the company disappeared, a large number of victims were left unattended, leading to the formation of advocacy groups where they shared and cross-checked information. As various leads converged, multiple suspicious points were gradually uncovered.
Firstly, the signatures of the company representatives on many contracts appeared to be forged, with some using the last name of one executive combined with the first name of another, creating non-existent names.
Secondly, several victims discovered that the information of different “egg donors” provided by the company was remarkably similar. The same egg donor had identical photos sent to different clients, but the blood types were marked as A, B, and other different types, raising doubts.
Furthermore, some victims found that their medical test reports had been tampered with.
One female revisited the hospital to retrieve the original test reports and found that the progesterone and estradiol values were higher by a digit compared to the versions provided by Bewang, suspecting that the company intentionally altered the data to delay implantation and extend medication usage.
Currently, based on victims’ calculations, the advocacy group has over 180 victims from various provinces and cities nationwide, most of whom have already paid tens of thousands of RMB, yet have not completed their test tube treatments.
According to current Chinese regulations, conducting human assisted reproductive technologies (including test tube babies, egg retrieval, surrogacy, etc.) in non-registered medical institutions or by individuals is illegal and even a criminal offense.