Newsroom
By Iliana Magra
Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis died Wednesday evening after suffering cardiac arrest at a private medical practice in Athens’ Kolonaki district. He was taken by ambulance to Elpis Hospital without a pulse or spontaneous breathing and was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m.
Late Wednesday night, the doctor whom Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis had visited at his practice on Karneadou Street in Athens’ Kolonaki district was giving a statement to officers from the Athens Security Directorate. The directorate is conducting the investigation under the supervision of the prosecutor’s office.
A call was made from the practice to Greece’s ambulance service, EKAB, at 4:30 p.m. after Mazonakis suffered cardiac arrest. A motorcycle rapid-response unit arrived at the scene, where a paramedic began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. An ambulance also arrived and transported him to Elpis Hospital.
In a statement issued later, the hospital said: “At 4:45 p.m., he was brought in by EKAB ambulance without spontaneous breathing and with no pulse. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed in accordance with protocol, without success. The official time of death was 5:40 p.m.”
A post-mortem examination is expected to establish the precise cause of Mazonakis’ death in the coming days.
According to information that emerged Wednesday, Mazonakis had reportedly gone to the Karneadou Street practice to undergo plasmapheresis, also known as plasma exchange.
A hematologist who spoke to Kathimerini described it as a complex procedure used to treat very specific medical conditions.
“You usually remove the plasma because it contains a substance that is harmful to the patient,” she said. “Plasmapheresis is not performed to combat ageing or for cosmetic reasons. It is not a simple procedure. It lasts several hours, requires the insertion of a central catheter and should not be carried out unless it is absolutely necessary.”
However, the Kolonaki practice’s website advertises a treatment involving CD34+ stem cells.
“It is an advanced medical method that uses the body’s own stem cells to repair and regenerate tissue,” the website says. “CD34+ cells, which are found in bone marrow and blood, have the ability to develop into different types of cells. This makes them versatile in treating a range of conditions, including heart disease, orthopedic problems and immune system disorders.”
According to the hematologist who spoke to Kathimerini, this treatment is different from plasmapheresis.
“CD34+ cells are what we call primitive cells, and they can be isolated from the blood,” she explained. “We use them in transplants. Although they are blood cells, under certain conditions they can also develop into other types of tissue.”
She stressed, however, that no one could comment more specifically on a patient’s treatment without knowing in detail exactly what had happened.
The Kolonaki practice promotes the treatment for a wide range of conditions, including cardiovascular, orthopedic and dermatological conditions, as well as neurological and metabolic disorders. Its website also claims that it may help people with long COVID and provide “general regenerative benefits” by “promoting overall health and well-being.”
The hematologist told Kathimerini, however, that the treatment is primarily used in transplants.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis also commented on the incident in a post on X on Wednesday night.
“According to the initial information, Giorgos Mazonakis suffered cardiac arrest at what was supposedly a clinic, during a procedure that has been described as plasmapheresis,” he wrote.
“The precise cause of his death will, of course, be determined through the forensic investigation, as will whether anyone bears responsibility and, if so, who. We must, however, investigate the exact circumstances of the incident.
“In reality, the facility was licensed only as a general medical practice, and a medical procedure of this kind is not permitted to be performed in such a practice. I asked the president of the Athens Medical Association to immediately carry out the required inspection, as responsibility for inspecting medical practices lies with the respective local medical associations. That inspection has already begun.
“In any event, I urge patients to be careful about what they read online and not to put their health at risk under questionable conditions. I express my sincere condolences to his family and his thousands of friends.”
Athens Medical Association President Giorgos Patoulis told Kathimerini that the association had urgently formed a three-member committee.
The committee will immediately visit the internist’s private practice in Kolonaki to inspect its operating conditions and determine whether the procedures being carried out there were permitted under the licence issued for the premises.
