Krystena Murray, a Georgia woman, is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists after losing custody of her baby, conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF), due to an embryo mix-up. The clinic admitted to the unprecedented error but expressed regret for the distress caused. Murray realized the mix-up when her child, born in December 2023, had dark skin despite selecting a sperm donor resembling her. After confirming through an at-home DNA test that the child was not hers, she ultimately gave him up to the biological parents in May 2024. Murray, who has not seen the child since, is continuing her fertility journey with another clinic.
A woman from Georgia has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic after giving birth to a baby conceived via in vitro fertilization, only to lose custody of the child to his biological parents, as stated in the lawsuit.
Krystena Murray, 38, is taking legal action against Coastal Fertility Specialists, an IVF clinic located in South Carolina, for the heart-wrenching mix-up. The clinic’s mistake, which resulted in her losing custody of the infant after bonding with him for months, “has caused irreparable damage to my soul,” she expressed during a news conference covered by NBC News.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Coastal Fertility Specialists expressed that they “deeply regrets the distress caused by an unprecedented error that resulted in an embryo transfer mix-up.”
“While this ultimately led to the birth of a healthy child, we understand the significant impact this situation has had on the affected families, and we sincerely apologize,” added the statement sent via email.
Ms. Murray’s case is part of a small number of incidents involving mix-ups in in vitro fertilization, a procedure commonly sought by individuals wishing to conceive. This situation has gained new scrutiny following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the expected policies of President Trump concerning reproductive rights. He has stated an intention to expand IVF and reduce its costs, which may provoke disapproval among more conservative circles.
Mix-ups in IVF are extremely uncommon. However, when they do occur, they can cause distressing consequences, often leading to agonizing decisions about a child’s future, sometimes years after the child has been raised by non-biological parents.
“The legal framework surrounding this issue is not particularly clear, and there are not many established precedents,” commented Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the UC Davis School of Law. “While there have been other mix-up cases, finding clear legal precedents is difficult.”
Court records indicate that Ms. Murray, a single woman, sought the services of Coastal Fertility Specialists to conceive with a selected sperm donor, undergoing an embryo transfer in May 2023.
Upon the birth of the child in December 2023, Ms. Murray realized something was amiss: described as a fair-skinned Caucasian woman, she had chosen a sperm donor who “physically resembled” her. However, the baby was born with dark skin, appearing to be African American, as noted in the lawsuit.
Ms. Murray recognized a mistake may have occurred at Coastal Fertility and that she was likely implanted with the incorrect embryo.
Nonetheless, she took the child home, caring for him by breastfeeding and attending doctor’s appointments. She kept her distance from friends and family, anxious about the apparent outcome that the child was not biologically hers, and refrained from sharing photos on social media. At a family funeral, she covered the child’s carrier with a blanket to keep him out of view, according to court documents.
After a hospital denied her request for a DNA test, Ms. Murray conducted an at-home genetic test in January 2024, which confirmed her fears: the child she had given birth to was not her biological offspring. She informed the clinic, hoping they would alert the couple whose child she had unintentionally carried.
“Ms. Murray considered that Coastal Fertility may have transferred her embryo to that other couple,” the lawsuit explained.
The biological parents subsequently filed a custody lawsuit against Ms. Murray. Even though she wished to keep the child, she relinquished him to the couple in May 2024, following her lawyers’ advice that she would likely lose a custody battle, she stated.
According to Coastal Fertility’s statement, “all of Ms. Murray’s embryos have been accounted for and are accessible to her anytime,” further expressing the clinic’s commitment “to support all affected families with transparency and compassion.”
Ms. Murray has not seen the child since she handed him over to the couple in May. In an interview on Wednesday, she stated that the decision to connect was up to the couple.
“I leave the contact up to them,” she said.
The clinic assured that this mix-up was “isolated in our 15-year history” and confirmed that no other patients were affected. “On the same day this error was discovered, we conducted a thorough review and established additional safeguards to better protect patients and prevent such incidents in the future.”
Ms. Murray indicated that she had “no interest in utilizing the embryos stored at Coastal,” yet she also mentioned that she hadn’t lost hope. “I have begun to continue my journey with another clinic,” she revealed.