Health ministry investigates unauthorised treatments across Cyprus
The health ministry is examining reports of unlicensed plasma therapy and unapproved weight loss injectables advertised through social media.
Nicosia, Cyprus. The health ministry is investigating several cases of unauthorised medical treatments, including unlicensed plasma therapy and unapproved weight loss injectables sold through social media.
Police and the legal service found insufficient evidence to establish criminal offences in a plasmapheresis case linked to serious complications suffered by a patient.
Plasmapheresis case
Police said on Friday that their investigation into the plasmapheresis case did not yield sufficient evidence to establish criminal offences. The investigation followed a complaint submitted by the health ministry in November 2023 concerning a patient who developed serious complications.
The case file was later forwarded to the legal service, which reached the same conclusion.
The complaint followed allegations by cardiothoracic surgeon Marinos Sotiriou, who said a patient was admitted to intensive care with extensive thrombosis after undergoing plasmapheresis, or plasma exchange, at an unlicensed centre in Larnaca.
Sotiriou said the treatment was legitimate when properly administered but warned against what he described as “charlatan tourism”. He said gaps in the law made it difficult for authorities to close such centres.
Ministry response
Speaking on CyBC, senior health ministry official Karolina Stylianou said adequate checks remained in place and that the ministry intervened immediately when complaints were received.
Referring to the Larnaca case, she confirmed that the centre had ceased operating under its previous name. She said she could not confirm whether it continued operating under another name.
Stylianou said the ministry would not identify centres currently under investigation in order to protect ongoing enquiries. She urged the public to report centres offering treatments outside approved medical practice.
Weight loss injectables
According to a separate report by Reporter, a Paphos-based company has come under scrutiny after advertising unapproved weight loss injectables on social media since last August.
The advertisements reportedly featured women demonstrating how to use the products. Several people are said to have experienced gastrointestinal side effects after using the preparations, with some requiring treatment at private clinics.
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