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A fertility clinic in New Jersey is being ordered to hand in a list of sperm donors after a white couple has given birth to an Asian baby. A recent lawsuit alleges that Kristina Koedderich received sperm from a man who was not her husband and that this man had transmitted a genetic disorder. The couple is seeking damages and information about their daughter's biological father.
Koedderich and Drew Wasilewski said that if they had trouble getting pregnant, they turned to the Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Science in St. Barnabas, New Jersey. In 2013, after in vitro fertilization, Koedderich gave birth.
But by the time their daughter turned two, the couple realized that something was wrong. "She does not look like Drew," Koedderich recalls.
The couple, now divorced, said that a DNA test had revealed that their daughter was solely related to Koedderich.
When he discovered that he was not the biological father, "It was difficult," Wasilewski said.
"Collapse, collapse," said Koedderich.
"You want to have a child and you can not have one, and then you can finally … and it was upsetting," Wasilewski added. "Very disturbing."
Wasilewski also worries about having other biological children that he does not know.
"The problem we have here, what happened to Drew's sperm?" said family lawyer David Mazie. "It was supposed to be inseminated that day, so if it was not going to Kristina, would anyone else have a father?"
"If I have other children, I want them to know who I am," Wasilewski said.
Even if the lawsuit prevails, said Mazie, it will not solve the damage. "Unfortunately, there is no perfect result, because you can never go back in time," he said. "The best result is that this clinic and other clinics follow suit, change their procedures and make sure it never happens, never, to another couple."
In a statement, the clinic told CBS News that "the integrity of our treatment processes is paramount and we take this case very seriously". According to the CDC, more than 78,000 babies were born through reproductive technologies implemented in fertility treatment centers in 2017. However, no government agency regulates the fertility industry as a whole.
Koedderich and Wasilewski said their nightmare was a factor in their divorce. The two wonder how Wasilewski will one day explain this to the girl he raises as his own.
"How is she going to treat him?" Koedderich asked.
"I'm worried about a lot of things," said Wasilewski in tears. "Every day, I say" do my best, and hope it will be fine. "
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