Wedding photographer Krystena Murray has described the “irreparable damage” she suffered after an IVF mix-up forced her to hand her five-month-old son over to another couple.
“I would have done literally anything in my power to keep him,” she said in a statement.
The 38-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, gave birth to a healthy boy in December 2023. It was following almost two years of fertility treatment at Coastal Fertility Specialists in the US.
“Krystena was overwhelmed with joy and hope when she learned she was pregnant,” her lawyer Adam Wolf, whose firm Peiffer Wolf specialises in misconduct in the US’s under-regulated fertility industry, said in a recorded statement.
When Krystena’s son was born, however, she immediately sensed something was amiss. She and her sperm donor were Caucasian, and her son was African American. What was supposed to be a profound, beautiful and life-altering experience was riddled with shock, confusion and fear, she said.
Test confirms fears
Krystena took an at-home DNA test which confirmed she had no biological relationship to the son she loved and cherished. She lived in fear he would be taken away from her. The clinic identified the couples whose embryo was implanted into Krystena, and they sued her for custody of her son.
Her lawyer said Krystena wanted to keep her son and was heartbroken when she had to give him up after five months of caring for him, and bonding with him.
“Like any other mother, Krystena fell in love with her baby. She bonded with him, she breastfed him, she took him to doctors’ appointments and she snuggled him throughout the day. He quickly became her best friend. Her daily companion and her source of strength.”
Krystena hired a family lawyer but was advised she would not win the custody battle. And so, she handed her son over, not wanting to make the situation any harder on him than it was.
She last saw him in May 2024.
A heart-breaking decision
“After spending every moment with her baby, for five months, every second of his life, Krystena has not seen her child ever since. Krystena is heartbroken,” Mr Wolf said.
“She actually chose the clinic, in part, because of its re-assuring message on its website, including, ‘there is no safer place for your embryos.’”
Krystena has filed a lawsuit against Coastal Fertility Specialists, USA, suing them over the IVF mix-up. The clinic released a statement expressing regret for the distress caused.
“While this ultimately led to the birth of a healthy child, we recognise the profound impact this situation has had on the affected families, and we extend our sincerest apologies,” Coastal Fertility Specialists said.
Destroyed by the mix-up
Krystena said the actions of the fertility clinic “have come very close to destroying me.”
“I’m emotionally broken. Nothing can express the shock and violation upon learning that your doctor put a stranger’s embryo into your body,” Krystena said. “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.”
She said she decided to speak publicly about her ordeal in the hope it would save anyone else from having to suffer through what she has endured and will continue to endure. The Weekly has previously reported on similar IVF mix-ups in the United States.
In its statement, Coastal Fertility Specialists said all of Ms Murray’s embryos have been accounted for and are available to her at any time.
