SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A local woman's journey to motherhood turned into a nightmare, and now she is suing the company responsible.
Krystena Murray wanted to have a baby. She always told people even as a child it was her dream to be a mom. The people who helped her become a mother then took away that joy within seconds of delivery. That's why Murray says she is suing Coastal Fertility Specialists.
She turned to Coastal Fertility for help. IVF can be a life changing procedure for couples trying to have a child. While she did eventually give birth, within 15 seconds of the little boy's birth, she knew something was wrong. Her life changed forever.
"The fertility clinic has hurt me in ways that I have yet to discover, and there are literally no words or unit of measure that can describe the damage that they have caused," explains Murray.
"He was beautiful and literally the best thing I had ever seen. But it was also immediately apparent that he was African-American," said Murray.
It turns out the clinic implanted the wrong embryo into Murray's body, meaning she gave birth to someone else's son.
"The baby she delivered was African-American. It was clear to Cristina that coastal fertility specialist had made an unimaginable error," said Adam Wolf, Murray's attorney. "A DNA test then confirm that this is in fact what had occurred. Coastal fertility had transferred to Krystena an embryo that belonged to another couple."
"My first thought is he's beautiful. My second thought was what happened?" said Murray. "Did they mess up the embryo or did they mess up the sperm? And if they messed up the embryo, can someone take my son?"
And that's exactly the situation she faced.
Knowing she was "not" the biological mother and would not win a legal battle, after caring and loving her son for five months, she gave him up to the couple whose egg she carried.
"I obviously would have kept him forever if I could have and I would have done anything to have done that," said Murray. "But that was not an option. So I did what was best for him and made that process as quick and easy as possible with the hopes that this would hopefully not affect him and his growth and development in the future, that he could go and bond with his new family and that this would not be something that would have lifelong effects on him."
But it has has a long lasting affect on Murray, now and in the future.
"My child was ultimately taken from me as the clinic had implanted into my womb. The embryo from a stranger. I have never felt so violated, and this situation has left me emotionally and physically broken." said Murray.
"I'll never be the same woman. I will never fully heal or completely move on. And part of me will always long for my son and wonder what kind of person he's becoming," said Murray.
"I can tell you that carrying a child who is not yours unknowingly a loving them, creating a whole life for them, birthing them, knowing they're not yours, loving them anyway, and wanting them. I honestly would have just chosen not to become a mother."
Lawyer Adam Wolf says while this situation is impossibly sad, Krystena is far from alone.
"Coastal Fertility made a serious mistake and the consequences are life altering for Krystena," says Wolf. "This is not the first IVF mixed up case that I've handled, and sadly, it will not be the last. A big reason is the lack of regulation. 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."