A 38-year-old Georgia woman is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists, a fertility clinic, for negligence. After the clinic swapped their embryos, the woman gave birth to another patient’s baby in late 2023.
The clinic apologised in a written statement, saying it was an “isolated incident.”
“The fertility clinic’s actions nearly destroyed me and caused irreparable damage to my soul,” said Krystena Murray, 38, of Savannah, Georgia.
Murray gave birth to a baby boy in late 2023 after fertility treatment but soon realised that there had been a mistake somewhere. Her baby was black, while she and her sperm donor were white. The woman had her eggs fertilised at the clinic, but the doctors had transferred an embryo from another patient.
Despite the mistake, Murray decided to raise the boy herself. But after the fertility clinic reported the error, the clinic tracked down and notified the baby’s biological parents. They claimed custody, and Murray gave up the 5-month-old boy to avoid a legal battle she said she couldn’t win.
“My baby is not genetically mine. He doesn’t have my blood, he doesn’t have my eyes, but he is and will always be my son,” Murray said during a press conference announcing she was filing a lawsuit against the clinic.
“I carried a baby, fell in love with him, gave birth to him, and created a special mother-child bond. All of that was taken away. I will never be the same woman again. Coastal Fertility Clinic hurt me in ways I have yet to discover. No words can describe the damage they have done.”
Apologies from the clinic
The fertility clinic has issued a written apology to Murray, saying it was an “unprecedented error that resulted in an embryo mix-up” and stressing that “all of Ms Murray’s embryos have been traced and are available to her at any time.”
“While the mistake ultimately resulted in the birth of a healthy child, we recognise the profound impact this situation has had on the families involved and offer our sincere apologies,” the clinic wrote on Instagram.
The clinic said it was an “isolated incident.” “On the day this error was discovered, we immediately conducted a thorough evaluation and implemented additional safety measures to protect patients further and ensure that such an incident does not happen again.”
