Sperm Bank Sued For Mistakenly Sending White Women a Black Man's Sperm

Jennifer Cramblett on NBC News and daughter Payton

An Ohio mom is suing a sperm bank in Downers Grove for giving her and her partner the wrong sperm, leading to the birth of a mixed-race child two years ago.

Jennifer Cramblett, 36, sued this week in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging breach of warranty and wrongful birth against Midwest Sperm Bank.

Cramblett reviewed sperm donor profiles at length in 2011 before deciding on the one she and her same-sex partner, Amanda Zinkon, wanted — Donor No. 380, whose physical features resemble Amanda’s. Instead, Midwest Sperm Bank sent her a vial with an African-American man’s donor sperm.

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“It’s a mistake ... that is inexcusable and unimaginable,” said Tom Intili, Cramblett’s attorney, in an interview with NBC News. “It wasn’t as if she was calling in September 2011 and ordering a pizza. That is an order you must get right.”

Cramblett and her partner of eight years are raising their 2-year-old mixed-race daughter, Payton, in Uniontown, Ohio, a small town of 2,800 people outside Akron. They say they are concerned about the intolerance that could affect their child in this all-white community, describing the situation as stressful and difficult.

Donor No. 380 was an athletic, blond man, a mix of Irish, German, English and French-Canadian, with hazel-green eyes, according to Midwest Sperm Bank’s donor roster.

“I was just floored by the fact that this was so easily messed up. So easily,” Cramblett told the local Fox News affiliate in Ohio.

Midwest Sperm Bank declined to respond to various news media requests for comment. On its website, Midwest Sperm Bank touts the high-quality of its donors and its high standards: “Our sperm donors are individually screened, not just for genetics and infectious diseases, but also for character and personality traits, as well as emotional and psychological well-being. As a result of our high standards and requirements, less than 5% of the donor applicants are accepted.”

How could such an error happen?

Cramblett’s fertility doctor in Ohio recommended Midwest Sperm Bank. Cramblett ordered the sperm by telephone in September 2011, and the lawsuit alleges that at one point a sperm bank employee told Cramblett she was ordering Donor 330. Cramblett corrected her and the employee replied, “Oh yes, I see you need No. 380,” according to the suit. She ordered six vials. Cramblett’s attorneys say the sperm bank’s records are handwritten, and the numbers were misread.

Cramblett learned she was pregnant on Dec. 24, 2011, after artificial insemination at her doctor’s office that fall. In April 2012, Jennifer and Amanda decided they would order more of the same sperm for an eventual second child.

Cramblett called Midwest Sperm Bank to place another order, according to the lawsuit, and the receptionist asked Jennifer if she had requested an African-American donor.

“No, why would I request that? My partner and I are Caucasian. You know that from our profiles.” In that phone call, she was told the sperm bank sent the doctor vials from Donor No. 330.

In August 2012, Payton was born.

“I was upset at them for not caring about my feelings and my emotions and just kind of pushing me away and saying we can’t talk to you anymore. No sorry, no accountability,” Cramblett told NBC News. “You can’t just do that and say, well, you got a baby so you should be happy. A lesbian couple can’t get a baby anyways, you should be happy you have a healthy child.”

Timothy Misny, who also represents Cramblett, said Midwest Sperm Bank declined to negotiate in good faith and the company’s “arrogant disdain” prompted the lawsuit.

They attorneys said they are seeking a financial judgment that will allow Jennifer, Amanda and Payton to move to a more diverse, tolerant community. The lawsuit asks for damages in an amount exceeding $50,000.

» Read the full lawsuit filed in Cook County Court

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