Armenian Woman Gives Birth Prematurely in Sharm El Sheikh; $5000 Demanded to Retrieve Child

Auroranews has received a distress call from Narek Hovhannisyan and Lilith Arakelian, currently in Sharm El Sheikh.

"My wife was about 7 months pregnant. Her condition worsened on the plane, and after landing, we were taken to the hospital by ambulance, where she gave birth prematurely via cesarean section. The issue is that the baby is in an incubator at the hospital, and the doctors indicate that they can only discharge the baby on Wednesday, while our package is until Saturday. We need additional money to stay here and cover medical expenses. Unfortunately, at this moment, we are unable to pay that amount and we are in a virtually hopeless situation. This means that until we pay the specified amount, we cannot take the baby and return to Armenia,” Narek Hovhannisyan reported.

The couple recounts that the hospital initially demanded $5000 from them, and as they could not afford that amount, they reached out to the Armenian Embassy in Egypt for assistance. With the embassy's intervention, the demand was reduced to $3500, yet the couple still does not have that money.

In a conversation with Auroranews, Anna Naghdalyan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, stated that everything possible is being done by the embassy to assist the citizens. It is noteworthy that the couple has medical insurance through Ingo Armenia. We contacted the organization to understand whether they intend to cover the medical expenses. Their response was that the organization would transfer the funds only if it is proven through medical documentation that the surgery was performed due to life-threatening circumstances.

It should be emphasized that the couple's trip was not planned, as they won their tickets in a lottery.

Currently, Auroranews is in contact with them and will provide additional information.