Baby carriage now empty

Woman carries wrong embryo, has to give up baby

"I left the building with an empty baby carriage," says the woman, describing the traumatic minutes after she had to return the baby to its biological parents.

(Bild: VPales/ stock.adobe.com)

A 38-year-old woman in the USA was delighted to have a child - with the help of a sperm donation. In the end, she actually gave birth to a baby. But it wasn't her own - the wrong embryo was implanted.

The mistake happened at a fertility clinic in the US state of Georgia. She "unknowingly and involuntarily carried to term a child that was not related to her", according to the lawsuit, which was filed in a court in the city of Savannah on Tuesday (local time).

Child had "wrong" skin color
The woman had decided to have a child with the help of a sperm donor and test tube fertilization. One of her eggs was to be used and the resulting embryo implanted. The woman had chosen a sperm donor who, like herself, had blonde hair and blue eyes.

In December 2023, she then gave birth to a "dark-skinned, African-American" child. It was "obvious" that the child was not related to her. A DNA test later confirmed this. Nevertheless, she raised the child in its first months and formed a bond with it.

Motherly happiness did not last long
When the clinic informed the child's biological parents, they sued for custody. At the age of five months, the child was then handed over to his biological parents. "I left the building with an empty stroller while they walked away with my son," the 38-year-old told NBC News

Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about the boy, the woman told ABC News. "I raised him for five months, but I didn't see his first steps. I don't know what his first words are." She will probably never see the child again, the lawsuit states.

Emotional damage and unanswered questions
The 38-year-old also does not know what happened to her own embryo and whether it was also mistakenly implanted in another woman. According to the lawsuit, she has suffered physical, emotional and financial stress. The lawyers are insisting on compensation.