A woman is suing an IVF clinic after discovering she gave birth to the wrong baby and was forced to give it up.
A woman named Krystena Murray is taking legal action against a fertility clinic after an unsettling experience during her in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.
Murray underwent two years of IVF in hopes of starting a family.
However, her journey took a shocking turn when she discovered that the baby she gave birth to was not biologically hers.
The woman underwent IVF treatment for years.
Murray, 38, had been trying to conceive for many years.
After facing difficulties, she decided to undergo IVF.
She chose a sperm donor who matched her physical traits, hoping for a child that would resemble her.
In December 2023, after a long wait, she finally gave birth to a baby boy.
At first, the moment should have been filled with joy. Instead, it quickly turned into confusion and heartache.
The woman discovered the baby wasn’t hers
Once the baby was born, Murray noticed that he did not look like her. This raised immediate concerns.
Although she had chosen a white sperm donor, the baby was African American.
After conducting a DNA test, Murray learned that the clinic had mistakenly implanted an embryo from another couple into her.
This revelation was devastating, as she had carried the child for nine months, forming a bond with him during that time.
“The birth of my child was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and honestly, it was. But it was also the scariest moment of my life,” Murray said.
“All of the love and joy I felt seeing him for the first time was immediately replaced by fear. How could this have happened?”
“I hoped that it was just a sperm mix-up, not an embryo mix-up.”
The heartbreak of giving up the child
Despite the shocking news, Murray initially decided to raise the child as her own.
She had developed a strong attachment and loved him deeply.
However, the situation became more complicated when the biological parents of the baby learned about the mix-up.
They filed for custody, and in May 2024, Murray was forced to hand over the child in court.
This traumatic experience left her feeling heartbroken and violated.
Murray described the moment she had to give up the baby as one of the most painful experiences of her life.
“I walked in a mum with a child, and I walked out with an empty stroller,” she recounted.
“I grew him, raised him, and loved him. And I saw him no different than if he were mine.”
The emotional toll of losing the child she had nurtured was immense.
Woman files lawsuit against the clinic after the heartbreaking experience
Following this traumatic experience, Murray decided to sue Coastal Fertility Specialists in Savannah, Georgia.
She is seeking $75,000 in damages for the emotional pain and mental distress caused by the clinic’s error.
In her lawsuit, she accuses the clinic of negligence, claiming that they “unknowingly turned her into an unwitting surrogate” for another couple.
Murray stated that she feels deeply violated by the circumstances and that the entire situation has left her emotionally broken.
She had spent her life dreaming of being a mother, and this incident shattered that dream.
The clinic responded to the IVF mix-up
In response to the lawsuit, Coastal Fertility Specialists released a statement expressing regret for the mix-up.
They described the incident as an “unprecedented error” and assured the public that it was an isolated event.
The clinic claimed to have implemented additional safeguards to prevent such occurrences in the future.
“This was an isolated event with no further patients affected.
The same day this error was discovered we immediately conducted an in-depth review and put additional safeguards in place to further protect patients and to ensure that such an incident does not happen again,” the statement read.