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White couple suing sperm bank for donor mix-up leaving them with mixed-race child

The two women are concerned about raising their daughter in a predominantly-white community

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Thursday 02 October 2014 15:57 BST
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Jennifer Cramblett and her white partner are suing a sperm bank after their white sperm donor was mixed up with an African-American donor, causing them to have a mixed-race child
Jennifer Cramblett and her white partner are suing a sperm bank after their white sperm donor was mixed up with an African-American donor, causing them to have a mixed-race child (AP)

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A white same-sex couple are suing a sperm bank for its mix-up with their donor choice, which caused them to give birth to a mixed-race child.

Jennifer Cramblett, 36, was four months pregnant when she received a letter from the Midwest Sperm Bank in Chicago, USA, explaining that she had been given the sperm of an African-American donor instead of the white donor she and her partner had selected.

The error has been put down to the sperm bank’s record keeping, as its files were handwritten instead of logged electronically, causing the mix up between Donor 330 and Donor 380.

Ms Cramblett said she received a letter from the sperm bank in August 2012 apologising for the mix-up and a refund on part of their payment for the sperm.

Ms Cramblett and her partner have stated that they love their two-year-old daughter Payton very much, but that bringing her up in the conservative area of Uniontown, Ohio, which is an “all-white neighbourhood”, has been stressful.

Ms Cramblett fears that her “all white and unconsciously insensitive family” which has never fully embraced her homosexuality could have a negative effect on Payton while she is growing up.

The couple claim in the lawsuit that Uniontown is “too racially intolerant”, and have been advised to move to a more racially diverse area by Ms Cramblett’s therapist.

She and her partner are now seeking $50,000 (£31,000).

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