A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic after an IVF mix-up resulted in her carrying and giving birth to another couple’s biological child, a mistake she says shattered her dream of motherhood and left her emotionally devastated.
According to court filings, 38-year-old Krystena Murray is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists, alleging that the clinic mistakenly implanted her with the wrong embryo during an in vitro fertilization procedure in 2023.
Murray, a white woman from Savannah, said she spent nearly two years undergoing fertility treatments in hopes of becoming a mother. She became pregnant after IVF and gave birth to a healthy baby boy in December 2023. However, she immediately realized something was wrong when the child did not resemble either her or the sperm donor she had selected, who was also white.
A DNA test later confirmed her fears: the child was not biologically related to her. The embryo she had carried belonged to another couple, according to the lawsuit.
Despite learning of the mix-up, Murray chose to raise the child and formed a deep bond with him during his first months of life. However, after the fertility clinic notified the biological parents, they sought custody of the baby. Faced with a legal battle her attorneys believed she could not win, Murray voluntarily relinquished custody in May 2024 when the child was five months old. She has not seen him since.
“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,” Murray said. “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.”
Her attorney, Adam Wolf, described the incident as a life-altering error and criticized the lack of oversight in the fertility industry, arguing that stronger regulations are needed to prevent similar cases.
In a statement, Coastal Fertility Specialists called the incident an “unprecedented error,” apologized to those affected, and said it had implemented additional safeguards to prevent such mistakes from occurring again. The clinic also described the case as an isolated incident.
Murray is seeking damages exceeding $75,000, claiming the clinic’s negligence effectively turned her into an unwitting surrogate for another family and caused lasting emotional and physical trauma.
The case has renewed debate about regulation and accountability within the fertility industry, where embryo mix-ups, though rare, have sparked several high-profile lawsuits in recent years.