Greek health minister faces scrutiny after pop star dies during unlicensed plasma therapy

George Mazonakis, a well-known Greek pop singer, collapsed from cardiac arrest while undergoing plasma extraction—a treatment used for autoimmune diseases but marketed by wellness clinics as a whole-body detox. The procedure took place at a private clinic in central Athens that did not hold a licence for the service, according to Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. Police and judicial inquiries uncovered an unexplained 87-minute interval between Mazonakis losing consciousness and the call to emergency services, with clinic staff later found searching the internet for emergency-resuscitation guidance.

Health policy analyst Helios Mosialos highlighted that Greece’s earlier digital health reforms have stalled, leaving patient records and quality-control mechanisms underdeveloped. The newly announced Medwatch system will verify clinic licences and advertising honesty but does not assess treatment quality. The incident has intensified criticism of the government, which abolished the specialised health-inspection unit in 2023, creating a supervisory gap that opposition parties say endangers public safety.