SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A former patient of Coastal Fertility Specialists has filed a lawsuit against the company for implanting the wrong embryo into her uterus, resulting in her carrying and giving birth to another couple’s biological child.
Coastal Fertility Specialists operates fertility clinics in South Carolina and Georgia.
According to the suit, Krystena Murray, a White woman who selected a sperm donor who was also White, delivered a baby who was Black.
Despite the clinic’s mistake, Murray wanted to keep her baby, but lost custody five months after giving birth. She has not seen her child since.
20250218-Murray-v.-Coastal-Fertility-Specialists.ComplaintDownload
The lawsuit was filed in Georgia state court, in Savannah, by Adam Wolf of the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise.
“This has destroyed me," Murray said. "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. 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.”
“Coastal Fertility Specialists made a very serious error, and the consequences are life-altering" Adam Wolf, partner at Peiffer Wolf, said. "This should never happen in a fertility clinic.'
“Unfortunately, the United States does not have meaningful fertility industry oversight. Until IVF clinics are subject to real regulations, reporting requirements and mandatory certification programs for lab staff, these mishaps will continue to occur.”
Murray attended many appointments over the course of several months and underwent numerous medical tests in preparation for the procedure. She was prescribed drugs to stimulate egg development and ovulation. She went to Coastal Fertility Specialists’ Savannah facility nearly every other day for follow-up examinations and blood tests.
On the day of the egg-retrieval surgery, Murray had several eggs extracted and was in pain. Coastal Fertility then used her retrieved eggs and created embryos using the donor’s sperm.
In May 2023, Coastal Fertility transferred an embryo to Murray. As she later learned, the embryo transferred into her uterus belonged to strangers who also used Coastal Fertility to get pregnant.
Murray delivered a baby boy on December 29, 2023. However, upon seeing her child, she knew something was wrong.
Murray is a fair-skinned, White woman who had chosen a sperm donor with a similar appearance, the baby whom she carried in her womb and delivered was a dark-skinned, African American baby.
While the suit states that Murray recognized the error in the baby she had delivered, she nonetheless raised the child as her own for several months. Still wanting answers, she had a DNA test administered in Jan. 2024 that resulted in the baby being, in fact, unrelated to Murray.
Two months later, Coastal Fertility suspected that it had transferred the stranger couple’s embryo to Murray. They broke the news to the stranger couple, who in turn sued Murray to obtain custody of the child. This required Murray to hire family-law counsel in multiple states.
A subsequent DNA test confirmed that the stranger couple were the genetic parents of Murray's child.
Murray's family-law attorneys came to the conclusion that she was going to lose the family-law case, and she ultimately lose the baby.
Murray then gave up the baby, who she had raised for five months, during a family-court hearing in May 2024. She has not seen the child since.
News 3 contacted Coastal Fertility Specialists, who provided the following statement regarding the suit:
"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.
"We're a family business dedicated to helping individuals and couples build their families.
It's for that reason that we hold ourselves to the highest standards of care and
responsibility. This incident, while isolated in our 15-year history, does not reflect the
level of excellence and trust we strive to uphold. This was an isolated event with no further patients affected. The same day this error was discovered we immediately conducted an in-depth review and put additional safeguards in place to further protect patients and to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.
"These additional measures reinforce our already stringent protocols and reflect our commitment to patient safety, transparency, and trust. We are doing everything we can to make things right for those affected by this incident. We will continue to uphold the integrity of our practice and our commitment to supporting families in their journey to parenthood."