*A White Georgia woman is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists after an IVF mix-up resulted in her giving birth to a Black baby instead of her biological child.
Krystena Murray’s lawsuit claims the clinic’s negligence caused her significant physical and emotional distress. Although Murray initially planned to raise the baby, the biological parents sued for custody. After a DNA test confirmed the mistake, she relinquished the child in May, fearing she would lose a legal battle, Newsweek reports.
Murray claims she was unaware of the clinic’s mistake until she gave birth in December 2023. She and her sperm donor are both white, but the baby she delivered is black. Coastal Fertility Specialists apologized for “an unprecedented error that resulted in an embryo transfer mix-up” in a statement.
The company, which operates clinics in Georgia and South Carolina, said staffers have adopted new safeguards to prevent similar mistakes from occurring in the future. Adam Wolf, one of Murray’s attorneys, this error would continue until fertility clinics were subject to “real regulations, reporting requirements, and mandatory certification programs for lab staff.”
The lawsuit states that “Ms. Murray had no issues or concerns with the Baby’s race, other than the fact that it indicated to her that he was clearly not related to her.”
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NEW: Woman launches lawsuit after giving birth to a black baby that wasn’t hers thanks to an IVF mixup.
Georgia woman Krystena Murray is suing a fertility clinic after carrying another couples baby through birth.
Murray didn’t find out about the mixup until she gave birth to a… pic.twitter.com/FULUnoVHEz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 21, 2025
Murray refrained from sharing photos of the baby online or introducing him to loved ones due to the mix-up, according to the lawsuit. In January 2024, an at-home DNA test confirmed the baby was not biologically hers. As she tried to bond with the child, she grew increasingly worried that he would be taken away.
Murray felt it was important to inform the child’s biological parents about the mix-up. When she attempted to pursue custody through legal action, her lawyers determined she was unlikely to win the case, so she voluntarily relinquished custody.
“After spending every moment with her child for the prior five months, Ms. Murray has not seen her child ever since,” her lawsuit said.
Murray’s legal filing also noted that the clinic’s error led her to be “turned into an unwitting surrogate” for another couple.
“She carried, lovingly cared for, and delivered a child who ended up not being biologically related to her. And then, for nearly half a year. She bonded with the child—her child—in addition to her bonding with the baby while he was still in the womb,” per the lawsuit.
“I have never felt so violated, and the situation has left me emotionally and physically broken. It has affected every aspect of my life in some way, and words cannot describe the continued destruction that it has on my life,” said Murray during a news conference, per Newsweek.
“I spent my entire life wanting to be a mom. I loved, nurtured and grew my child, and I would have done literally anything in my power to keep him. 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,” she added. “My hope in sharing my story is that this will help prevent this from ever happening to anyone else trying to start a family of their own.”
Murray’s attorney said: “Coastal Fertility Specialists made a serious mistake, and the consequences are life-altering for Krystena. This is not the first IVF mix-up case that I’ve handled, and sadly, it will not be the last. A big reason is the lack of regulation,” Wolf explained.
“Unfortunately, the United States is one of the few developed countries without meaningful oversight over fertility clinic laboratories. Until IVF clinics are subject to real regulations, reporting requirements and mandatory certification programs for lab staff, these types of errors will continue to occur,” he added.
Coastal Fertility Specialists said in a statement to the AP: “This was an isolated event with no further patients affected. We are doing everything we can to make things right for those affected by this incident.”
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