Undergoing fertility treatments is a long, exhaustive, and often expensive process for people who want to have a child. A lot of heartbreak often comes with going through the process of fertility treatments. For instance, it's rare the treatments work the first time, which means couples typically go through the process more than once.
For a Tennessee couple, the heartbreak of fertility treatments not working wasn't the only one they had to endure. After many months of preparation and tens of thousands of dollars spent, they allege that the hospital storing their embryos moved the embryos without telling them and now have no idea where they've been put.
More from CafeMom: Woman's Husband Thinks She Should Cover IVF Costs Because She's the 'Cause of Infertility'
The couple had to travel across multiple states to receive quality treatment.
Mary and Jimmy Gorman live in Memphis, Tennessee, and after trying to get pregnant for several years, the couple decided to seek treatment with Dr. Sherman Silber, a reputable doctor at the Infertility Center of St. Louis to try undergoing IVF.
"I'll do anything it takes to have a family," Mary Gorman told NBC affiliate KSDK. "I heard really good things about this doctor."
The couple ended up spending more than $70,000 on treatments over the course of nine months, resulting in two embryos.
Mary received a shock during one of her procedures.
Mary had her eggs retrieved on September 19, 2023. The first egg was transferred on February 7, 2024, but it was not successful. On May 14, she went to the Infertility Center of St. Louis for a second transfer. She was in the hospital gown when the doctor told her that they wouldn't be able to do the procedure that day.
"Because they lost it. They don't know where it was at," Mary said of the clinic, per KSDK. "I don't understand why that would happen or why it happened. They can’t answer me. They won't give me an answer," she added.
More from CafeMom: 'Virgin Mom' Opens Up About Getting Pregnant & Giving Birth Despite Never Having Sex
The couple is planning to sue the hospital.
"They made a mistake. They screwed up," Josh Tolin, the Gorman's attorney, told KSDK.
He told the news outlet that he plans to sue both the fertility clinic and St. Luke's Hospital, where the clinic stored the embryos, but he has yet to file the lawsuit.
"It's a finger-pointing process," he said. "I don't know that we'll ever get the truth."
The hospital has released a statement.
In a statement to KSDK, a representative with St. Luke’s shared a written statement: "At the end of 2023, after careful consideration, St. Luke’s decided to no longer offer assisted reproductive technology services, including in vitro fertilization and storage of frozen specimens. Once these services ceased, St. Luke’s began transitioning storage of these specimens to our partner of many years, ReproTech, at their regional facility in Garland, Texas. ReproTech is a premier provider of long-term storage services and recognized for storage excellence and reliability.
"Dr. Silber informed his patients of this transition with multiple communications beginning in the Fall of 2023. Patients have been notified that, upon request, their specimens are available to be transferred to a different fertility clinic or storage service if they so choose," the statement continued. "Nothing has changed for our patients other than the storage location of their specimens. St. Luke’s dedication to providing exceptional care to every patient, every time, is the foundation of everything we do. St. Luke’s has always, including during this transition, maintained stringent policies and practices related to the collection, preservation and storage of reproductive specimens and embryos, and any claims to the contrary are without merit."
The Gormans fear they will never have any answers.
"That could have been my chance to have a child," Mary Gorman confessed.
KSDK senior investigative reporter Paula Vasan asked the couple what their "biggest fear" was. Mainly, it was that their embryo could end up somewhere else.
"That, you know, if I get a knock on the door in 10 years at my house saying, 'Hey, Dad,' and I've never met my child before," Jimmy Gorman admitted.
