Merchants of Death: How the Odesa private clinic "Odrex" and the funeral home "Anubis" are connected

The story of Svitlana Huk, who lost her husband after surgery at the Odesa private clinic Odrex, raised another painful question – how does information about the death of clinic patients instantly end up in one of Odesa's most expensive funeral homes, "Anubis"? According to the woman, an employee of this funeral service called her just an hour after her husband's death – even before any official procedures. Can the Odrex clinic transfer information about deceased patients, and is this a systemic collaboration between the medical clinic and the funeral business – read in the UNN material.

When a person loses a loved one, they are in a state of shock and disorientation. It is at this moment that the relatives of the deceased are most vulnerable to imposed "services." Svitlana Huk's story demonstrates how quickly after a patient's death, representatives of the funeral business appear nearby – without any request from the family.

In an interview for UNN, Svitlana Huk directly points to this episode as suspicious and traumatic. The widow says that after the shocking news of the death of her dearest person, pressure from the clinic, demands for payment, and signing documents waiving claims, the situation took an unexpected turn.

An hour (after her husband's death - ed.) I received a call from the agent of the Anubis funeral home – Yevhen Konstandaki. He already knew about my husband's death and my phone number 

According to her, she did not contact any funeral service, did not leave contacts, and did not ask the Odrex clinic to transfer any information to third parties.

Is patient death data from Odrex a commodity?

The agent of the Anubis funeral home received information about Svitlana's husband's death almost instantly – at a time when the family was still at the clinic, and all decisions were made under pressure and in a state of severe emotional distress.

The story of the Huk family prompted the UNN editorial board to ask logical questions: who and on what grounds transferred the widow's contact details? Is this practice accidental, or is it a well-established mechanism of cooperation between the Odesa private clinic "Odrex" and the "Anubis" funeral home?

The transfer of personal data of deceased patients' relatives to funeral homes is a common practice for additional earnings of Ukrainian medical institutions - this is usually not talked about, but those who have lost a loved one often receive a call from a funeral service earlier than they start thinking about organizing a funeral. Whether there is commercial cooperation between "Odrex" and "Anubis" in the context of information "leakage" - the UNN editorial board does not have clear confirmations. However, in the stories of relatives of patients who claim that their loved ones died precisely as a result of treatment at Odrex, "Anubis" is mentioned repeatedly. In the same context, refusals to conduct an autopsy are also mentioned, as well as the fact that the relatives of the deceased did not contact "Anubis" themselves.  

In addition, former employees of the Odrex clinic claim off the record that the clinic receives a stable "kickback" for each deceased person they transfer to "Anubis". 

It turns out that the medical institution "Odrex", which should treat people, can have additional earnings from the death of its patients? Is it about personal agreements of someone from the clinic staff? Or about systemic cooperation at the administration level? 

But if the facts are confirmed one way or another, it will not only be about the moral side of the issue, but also about a possible violation of the rights of patients and their relatives to confidentiality. In particular, norms regarding the preservation of medical secrecy and personal data. After all, the law directly prohibits the disclosure of information about health status, the fact of death, and contact details without the consent of legal representatives.

Recall

Even more tragic stories related to treatment at "Odrex" are shown in the documentary film "Wasp's Nest". Patients and relatives of those who died after treatment at the clinic, regardless of the diagnosis, tell a similar story: first – optimistic promises, then – sudden "complications," increased bills, pressure, demands, and threats from the clinic administration.  

In addition, former patients and families of the deceased created the website Stop Odrex, where they publish their own stories and information about the progress of criminal proceedings. There you can also anonymously or openly tell your story about treatment at the Odesa private clinic Odrex. 

The victims and their families emphasize: they do not seek revenge, but demand truth and accountability. Their main goal is to stop new tragedies and prevent others from going through the same tragic path.

And the more people dare to speak, the more obvious it becomes: the problem may go far beyond individual medical errors. They are convinced that it may be a systemic approach to doing business in the "Odrex" clinic. Where, in their opinion, the main value is not human life and quality medical care, but the amount of money earned. 

Let's add

The impetus for the active public coverage of the so-called "Odrex Case" was the death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan within the clinic's walls. It is known that in May-October 2024, he underwent treatment there. Following his death, two doctors were notified of suspicion of improper performance of professional duties, which caused the patient's death (Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). 

It was later revealed that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, who was fired from Odrex almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Investigators, based on expert conclusions, believe that the actions of these two doctors led to the death of patient Adnan Kivan.