US woman sues fertility clinic after IVF mix up leads to wrong baby

A woman from Georgia, USA, is taking legal action against an IVF clinic after discovering that the baby she carried and gave birth to was not biologically hers. The mix-up, which led to her raising the child for several months before losing custody to the biological parents, has left her devastated and seeking justice.

Krystena Murray underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment at Coastal Fertility Clinic in May 2023, hoping to conceive a child using an embryo created with her chosen sperm donor. However, when she gave birth in December 2023, she was shocked to find that the baby’s ethnicity did not match either her own or that of the donor. This alarming discrepancy raised questions about whether the correct embryo had been implanted during her IVF procedure.

Despite the apparent mistake, Murray bonded deeply with the child and wanted to keep him. She cared for the baby for several months before confirming her suspicions through an at-home DNA test in late January 2024. The results confirmed that she and the baby were not biologically related. Concerned and confused, she immediately reported the issue to the clinic.

Upon being notified, the clinic alerted the biological parents, who were unaware that their embryo had been mistakenly implanted in another woman. They subsequently pursued legal action to gain custody of their child.

By the time the baby was three months old, the court proceedings had begun, and Murray was advised by her legal team that she had little to no chance of winning in family court. Ultimately, she voluntarily relinquished custody, and the child was placed with his biological parents, who live in another state. The baby’s name was also changed as part of the transition.

In a statement released through her attorney, Murray described the emotional devastation caused by the experience. She expressed the heartbreak of carrying, delivering, and bonding with a baby only to have him taken away. She noted that she had never shared photos of the child on social media or introduced him to family and friends, fearing the potential fallout of the situation.

Murray’s legal complaint against Coastal Fertility Clinic raises critical questions about how the error occurred. To this day, she has not been informed whether her embryo was mistakenly transferred to another patient or what might have happened to it.

Coastal Fertility Clinic has acknowledged the mistake and issued an apology for the distress caused by the incident. In a statement provided to sources, the clinic described the event as an isolated case, assuring that no other patients were affected. It stated that an internal investigation was conducted on the same day the error was discovered and that additional safeguards have since been implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.

This case is part of a growing number of legal battles involving fertility clinics in the United States over embryo mix-ups. IVF procedures, in which a woman’s eggs are fertilized in a laboratory before being implanted into the uterus, are highly complex, requiring meticulous handling of genetic material. Mistakes like these can have life-altering consequences for all parties involved.

Murray’s lawsuit highlights the profound emotional and legal challenges that arise from such errors and underscores the need for stricter safeguards in fertility treatments to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future.