A US woman who unknowingly carried and delivered a baby boy who was not biologically hers has launched legal proceedings against an IVF clinic over the mix-up, after being forced to give up custody.
Krystena Murray, from Georgia, became pregnant after IVF treatment at the Coastal Fertility Clinic in May 2023.
But it became clear that the embryo she had been carrying in fact belonged to another couple – after she gave birth to a boy who was of a different race from both her and the sperm donor she had chosen, someone who looked similar to her, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Despite the error, reports CBS, Murray wanted to keep the child, and raised the baby for several months until the biological parents were granted custody.
In a statement released through her lawyer, she said: “To carry a baby, fall in love with him, deliver him, and build the uniquely special bond between mother and baby, all to have him taken away. I’ll never fully recover from this.”
After giving birth to the baby in December 2023, she had bought an at-home DNA kit: the test results in late January 2024 confirmed they were not biologically related, according to the complaint filed against the clinic and Dr Jeffrey Gray.
BBC reports that when she told the clinic about the mix-up, it alerted the biological parents, who sued for custody when the baby was three-months-old.
She voluntarily gave up custody after being told by her legal team she stood no chance of winning in family court. The baby now lives with his biological parents in another state under a different name.
The complaint says Murray still doesn’t know whether the clinic mistakenly transferred her embryo to a different couple, or what might have happened to it afterwards. She is seeking a jury trial, $75 000 in judgment and other damages, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement, Coastal Fertility acknowledged the mistake and apologised for the distress, calling it an isolated event.
There have been several lawsuits in recent years brought against US fertility clinics over IVF mix-ups.
BBC article – US woman sues after carrying wrong baby in IVF error
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
US couples file lawsuits over ‘worst ever’ IVF mix-up
Alabama passes IVF immunity Bill
Botch up means 26 women got wrong IVF sperm