A Georgia woman has been left “emotionally and physically broken” after developing a “special bond” with her baby in utero… Only to realize it wasn’t her baby at all!
Krystena Murray is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists two years after a monumental mishap. In May 2023, the IVF fertility clinic transferred an embryo into the excited mom-to-be. In December of the same year, she gave birth to her prized baby boy, only to quickly realize there was “no chance the child was biologically related” to her, according to her lawsuit obtained by People. According to Krystena, “a fair-skinned, White woman” (as you can see pictured above), she selected a sperm donor with a “similar appearance.” However, the child she welcomed was a “dark-skinned, African American baby.”
Krystena wants to be clear she’s not being racist here. According to the legal docs, she “had no issues or concerns with the Baby’s race.” But the idea she had given to birth to a child that was in no way biologically hers was “terrifying and shocking” to her. In a statement, the 38-year-old explained:
“This has destroyed me. I’m heartsick; I’m emotionally broken. Nothing can express the shock and violation upon learning that your doctor put a stranger’s embryo into your body.”
Still, she took the child home and intended to raise him as her own. Wow. Good for her! But things didn’t go according to plan…
After she reported the situation to Coastal Fertility Specialists, the clinic tracked down the biological parents, a Black couple, and notified them. And they decided to sue Krystena for custody!
In an attempt to avoid stress on the child’s early life, she gave him up at 5 months old in May 2024. She continued in her statement:
“To carry a baby, fall in love with him, deliver him, and build the uniquely special bond between mother and baby, all to have him taken away. I’ll never fully recover from this.”
That is absolutely heartbreaking… And frankly, it must have been awful for the baby’s biological parents as well. Just so tough all around. We can see how she decided to take legal action…
In a recent press conference announcing her lawsuit, Krystena told reporters:
“I have never felt so violated and the situation has left me emotionally and physically broken. I spent my entire life wanting to be a mom. I loved, nurtured and grew my child and I would have done literally anything to keep him.”
However, she felt the custody battle was one she would not be able to win. She added:
“Hopefully there will be more regulations and better policy and procedure at clinics and safety checks and hard stops that can prevent errors like this happening in the future.”
Coastal Fertility Specialists has since claimed an extensive review is in place and they are “doing everything we can to make things right for those affected by this incident.” The clinic added:
“Coastal Fertility Specialists 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 recognize the profound impact this situation has had on the affected families, and we extend our sincerest apologies.”
Krystena’s attorney Adam Wolf told reporters:
“This is not the first IVF mixup case that I’ve handled, and sadly, it will not be the last. 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.”
It’s unclear what Krystena is seeking in terms of damages, but she still wants to be a mom — though IVF is off the table for her now:
“I’ll be 39 soon. I’m hoping to continue my journey to be a mom in the next year or two.”
As of now, she still doesn’t know what happened to her own embryos.