Woman who says she got wrong sperm forced to move lawsuit to DuPage County
An Ohio woman's lawsuit alleging a sperm bank error that led to the birth of her biracial daughter has been moved to DuPage County.
The suit, originally filed in November in Cook County, was refiled March 24 in DuPage. The Midwest Sperm Bank is on Main Street in Downers Grove.
Jennifer Cramblett, 37, declined Friday to comment on her suit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
But according to the 11-page filing, the Uniontown, Ohio, woman was impregnated through artificial insemination in December 2011. It wasn't until Cramblett, who is white, was five months pregnant that she learned she was accidentally impregnated with the sperm of a black man.
Cramblett, according to the document, learned of the mix-up when she called to reserve additional vials from the same donor so her partner, Amanda Zinkon, 30, also could become pregnant.
The lawsuit alleges that the mistake was a result of handwritten records, rather than electronic records that would have made the error easier to catch.
Cramblett and Zinkon selected donor No. 380 after reviewing the man's 23-page profile in August 2011, but were instead given sperm from donor No. 330, according to the lawsuit.
The mistake was discovered in April 2012 when Cramblett called the facility to order several more vials from donor No. 380 and was told she was impregnated by donor No. 330.
Cramblett received a letter from the clinic the following month apologizing for the mix-up and a check, reimbursing her for the additional incorrect vials she received in September 2011, according to the suit.
Payton, "a beautiful, obviously mixed-race baby girl" was born Aug. 21, 2012, according to the lawsuit.
"One of Jennifer's biggest fears is the life experiences Payton will undergo, not only in her all-white and often unconsciously insensitive family," the suit states. "Jennifer's stress and anxiety intensifies when she envisions Payton entering an all-white school."
Neither Cramblett's attorney, Tim Misny, nor the sperm bank's attorney, Scott Bakal, returned calls Friday.
The suit first will be heard June 22 in courtroom 2014 before Judge Ronald Sutter.