A white Ohio woman is suing a
Downers Grove-based sperm
bank, alleging that the company
mistakenly gave her vials from an
African-American donor, a fact that
she said has made it difficult for her
and her same-sex partner to raise
their now 2-year-old daughter in an
all-white community.
Jennifer Cramblett, of Uniontown,
Ohio, alleges in the lawsuit filed
Monday in Cook County Circuit Court
that Midwest Sperm Bank sent her the
vials of an African-American donor's
sperm in September 2011 instead of
those of a white donor that she and
her white partner had ordered.
After searching through pages of
comprehensive histories for their top
three donors, the lawsuit claims,
Cramblett and her domestic partner,
Amanda Zinkon, chose donor No. 380,
who was also white. Their doctor in
Ohio received vials from donor No.
330, who is African-American, the
lawsuit said.
Cramblett, 36, learned of the mistake
in April 2012, when she was pregnant
and ordering more vials so that the
couple could have another child with
sperm from the same donor,
according to the lawsuit. The sperm
bank delivered vials from the correct
donor in August 2011, but Cramblett
later requested more vials, according
to the suit.
Cramblett is suing Midwest Sperm
Bank for wrongful birth and breach of
warranty, citing the emotional and
economic losses she has suffered.
An attorney for Midwest Sperm Bank
said the company would not comment
on pending litigation.
"On August 21, 2012, Jennifer gave
birth to Payton, a beautiful, obviously
mixed-race baby girl," the lawsuit
states. "Jennifer bonded with Payton
easily and she and Amanda love her
very much. Even so, Jennifer lives
each day with fears, anxieties and
uncertainty about her future and
Payton's future."
Raising a mixed-race daughter has
been stressful in Cramblett and
Zinkon's small, all-white community,
according to the suit. Cramblett was
raised around people with
stereotypical attitudes about
nonwhites, the lawsuit states, and did
not know African-Americans until she
attended college at the University of
Akron.
"Because of this background and
upbringing, Jennifer acknowledges
her limited cultural competency
relative to African-Americans and
steep learning curve, particularly in
small, homogenous Uniontown, which
she regards as too racially intolerant,"
the lawsuit states.
Part of that learning curve has
included getting her daughter's hair
cut, which according to the suit
requires Cramblett to travel to a black
neighborhood, "where she is
obviously different in appearance, and
not overtly welcome."
She fears that her "all white and
unconsciously insensitive family,"
which has never been able to fully
embrace Jennifer's homosexuality,
could have a negative effect on her
daughter, according to the lawsuit.
"Though compelled to repress her
individuality amongst family
members, Payton's differences are
irrepressible, and Jennifer does not
want Payton to feel stigmatized or
unrecognized due simply to the
circumstances of her birth," the
lawsuit states. "Jennifer's stress and
anxiety intensify when she envisions
Payton entering an all-white school."
Cramblett's therapists have advised
her that for her and her child's
psychological well-being, she must
relocate to a racially diverse
community with good schools,
according to the suit.
The lawsuit alleges the error occurred
because the sperm bank keeps
handwritten instead of electronic
records, which allowed the donor
numbers to be misread.
A month after Cramblett said she
learned of the mistake, according to
the lawsuit, the sperm bank sent her a
typed letter of apology along with a
refund check for the six vials of
incorrect sperm that were sent to her
in September 2011.
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