The 56-year-old physician who treated Giorgos Mazonakis addressed the plasmapheresis equipment used during the singer’s treatment in her court defense, insisting that the machines had been registered with the Athens Medical Association and were present at her clinic during a relevant inspection.
Mazonakis case: “The machine was registered with the Athens Medical Association”
According to sources, the defendant claimed that both machines had been registered with the Athens Medical Association (ISA). Regarding one of them — purchased in 2023 — she reportedly stated that it was registered in 2025. She also maintained that the Association had conducted an inspection that same year and that photographic evidence existed.
“The machine has been registered with the ISA, just like all of our equipment, and an inspection was carried out in 2025, for which photographic documentation exists. When the ISA conducted its on-site inspection, the machine was there — and in fact, a treatment was taking place on the day of the inspection,” she reportedly said. According to the same sources, the defendant expressed bewilderment over the fact that no reference to the machine appeared in the Association’s inspection report, insisting she had not concealed its existence.
The timeline of Giorgos Mazonakis’s collapse
During her lengthy defense statement, the 56-year-old doctor outlined the chronology of Giorgos Mazonakis’s treatment, up to the point where, she claims, he began showing signs of deterioration.
According to the defendant, the treatment began at 14:37:46 — a time she said is recorded on the machine as the start of the blood exchange process. The first two alerts, she claimed, were triggered because she had not yet opened the machine’s tubes to allow blood flow to begin.
At 15:22:54, the doctor stated she paused the treatment after one of the singer’s veins had collapsed. After locating a new vein, she reportedly resumed blood flow at approximately 15:45. However, according to the defendant, a new problem arose just one minute later.
As the 56-year-old described, Giorgos Mazonakis then got up and went to the bathroom. “He made some movement and another vein collapsed — that is why the treatment was paused at 15:46:15,” she reportedly said.
She claimed the singer remained in the bathroom for approximately five minutes and that, upon his return, he appeared to be in a normal condition. According to her defense statement, she reconnected him to the monitor and told him she would need to find another vein in order to continue the procedure.
The search for a suitable vein
Following Giorgos Mazonakis’s return, the 56-year-old described a series of successive attempts to locate a new vein. She reportedly said she initially found a small vein in his right palm, which also collapsed. Further attempts were made on his left hand, using anesthetic cream on the dorsal surface of the left extremity, but without success. According to the defendant, she had decided to try one final time and, if that too failed, to discontinue the treatment.
Approximately half an hour after his return from the bathroom, while the doctor was attempting to locate a vein, she stated that she suddenly noticed abrupt changes in his vital signs.
The deterioration of Giorgos Mazonakis’s condition
“Suddenly, while I was monitoring the screen, I saw that the electrocardiogram was becoming irregular, his oxygen dropped from a stable 98 to 89, and his blood pressure fell to 10/6, when it had been 14/9 as measured at the foot,” she reportedly said. Based on her account, she placed the moment the singer’s collapse began at approximately 16:20 on September 9th.
Following this deterioration, according to her defense statement, the 56-year-old placed an oxygen mask on Giorgos Mazonakis and began calling for help. She also asked the nurse to prepare adrenaline and initiated CPR.
She reportedly stated that emergency services (EKAB) were notified within approximately five minutes. The defendant denied the charges brought against her and said she was devastated by the loss of her patient.
Regarding the cleanup of the premises after the incident, she maintained that it was not her initiative, as she said she was in a state of shock at the time.
Her position on the treatment
The 56-year-old insisted that the therapy is safe for patients and that, in her professional opinion, it carries no contraindications or side effects. She also argued that the procedure is not, in essence, conventional plasmapheresis, but rather “double plasma filtration.”
With regard to Giorgos Mazonakis specifically, the doctor reportedly said she had not obtained a full medical history, but had taken into account the measurements recorded before and during the treatment. She also noted that the singer had told her he had not slept and wished to sleep during the procedure.
The defendant reportedly maintained that, in her assessment, there was no contraindication that would have precluded this particular treatment for Giorgos Mazonakis. She further stated that she would not have proceeded with any medical procedure had she believed there was any risk to the patient.
