US woman 'unknowingly' becomes couple's surrogate, sues IVF clinic for mix-up

A woman in US's Georgia has decided to sue a fertility clinic after giving birth to a boy through in vitro fertilisation, who later turned out to be another couple's child, due to a mix-up of embryos.

According to the lawsuit filed in Georgia state court, Krystena Murray, 38, learnt about the mix-up only after giving birth when it was clear that the boy wasn't hers due to his race. She is white and chose a sperm donor who is also of the same skin colour with blonde hair and blue eyes; the baby is Black.

The lawsuit said that the clinic's "extreme and outrageous" mistake caused Murray to become an "unwitting surrogate, against her will, for another couple". She has sought unspecified monetary damages, The Associated Press reported.

"The birth of my child was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and honestly, it was," she said at a news conference as reported by NBC News. "All of the love and joy I felt seeing him for the first time was immediately replaced by fear. How could this have happened?"

Murray said in the lawsuit that she opted for a DNA test at home and found out she was not related to her newborn. Even so, she decided to raise the child as her own. However, when she informed Coastal Fertility Specialists about the mix-up, the clinic notified the child's biological parents, who in turn sued Murray to get custody of their son. The 38-year-old voluntarily gave up the 5-month-old's custody to avoid a legal fight after her lawyer told her she was not going to win.

The lawsuit said that Murray had "no issues or concerns with the baby's race" other than the fact that it showed he wasn't related to her.

Expressing her pain, Murray said the incident had "destroyed" her and that she would "never fully recover".

"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," she said at the press conference.

The lawsuit said that Murray remains unaware if the fertility clinic transferred her embryo to someone else, and thus, she doesn't know if her biologically related child is being "raised by someone else", Fox News reported.

In a statement, the fertility clinic expressed "deep regrets" for causing distress to Murray due to an "unprecedented error that resulted in an embryo transfer mix-up", The New York Times reported.

"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," the statement added.