A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) error resulted in her giving birth to a child who was not genetically hers.
Krystena Murray, a white woman from Savannah, turned to Coastal Fertility Specialists after nearly two years of struggling to conceive.
In December 2023, she gave birth to a baby but immediately noticed something was amiss—the child did not share her physical features, nor those of the sperm donor.
A DNA test later confirmed her worst fears: the embryo she carried had been mistakenly transferred and belonged to another couple.
Despite the shocking discovery, Murray chose to raise the child until May 2024, when the biological parents sued for custody. Facing a case she was unlikely to win, she surrendered the baby to them.
“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 told Newsweek. “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, Esq., who has represented other victims in IVF mix-up cases, sharply criticized the lack of federal regulation in the fertility industry.
“Coastal Fertility Specialists made a serious mistake, and the consequences are life-altering for Krystena,” Wolf said. “This is not the first IVF mix-up case that I’ve handled, and sadly, it will not be the last.”
Coastal Fertility Specialists called the mistake “unprecedented” and issued an apology, assuring patients that new safeguards have been implemented to prevent similar errors in the future.
Murray is now suing the clinic for negligence, emotional distress, and medical malpractice.
The case highlights growing concerns about oversight in the fertility industry, which remains largely self-regulated despite its rapid growth in the United States.
