Note: This story originally made news in 2011 and describes events from 2009.
The call that changed everything
According to ABC News, Carolyn and Sean Savage of Ohio learned on February 16, 2009, that the frozen embryo implanted in Carolyn’s womb during in vitro fertilization did not belong to them. The couple had turned to IVF after years of miscarriages.
A faith-led decision—and a handoff
ABC News reported the Savages could have sought custody or considered termination. The Savages said their Catholic faith guided them to carry the baby—whom they called “Little Man”—to term and then return him to his biological parents, Shannon and Paul Morell of Sterling Heights, Michigan. On September 24, 2009, the Savages handed the newborn to the Morells, who named him Logan.
“We have three children. Or do we have four?” Carolyn said of their loss, as quoted in coverage of their book, Inconceivable. “That absent child is always with you.”
How a labeling error snowballed
The clinic involved was not identified due to a settlement, ABC News reported, but the agreement required a written explanation. Per that account, a lab employee entered Carolyn’s birth year as 3/19/1967 instead of 3/19/1969. Embryos were stored alphabetically, and pulling the “S” file surfaced Shannon Savage’s information sheet, which was then associated with the Morells’ embryos and placed at the back of the file.
Carolyn noticed the wrong birth date on a wrist bracelet the day of transfer. She joked about it, and a nurse changed the 7 to a 9, according to the Savages’ account. Nine days later, a data-entry review flagged the conflicting birth years and uncovered the Morells’ embryo information sheet in the file. ABC News reported that no one—including a doctor—had cross-checked the labels and information sheets before then.
Trauma after birth
In the months after the handoff, the Savages said their marriage suffered and Carolyn was diagnosed with post‑traumatic stress disorder following the birth. They both sought counseling. “It was an unacceptable, cruel situation to be put in,” Sean said, as quoted by ABC News. Professor Pauline Boss, an expert on ambiguous loss, described their experience as “a loss that has no closure.”
During the pregnancy, Carolyn faced a potentially threatening uterine clot, ABC News reported. The Savages said they kept the Morells updated and promised they would not terminate and would not fight for custody.
Two families, two books
The Savages detailed their experience in Inconceivable. The Morells told their side, including the uncertainty tied to Carolyn’s miscarriage history, in Misconception. As of the 2011 reporting, the Savages had visited Logan twice, when he was 17 months old, and had no formal agreement about future visits. “His mom and dad will decide what’s best for him,” Sean said.
The clinic stays unnamed; protocols promised
Because of the settlement, the Savages did not name the clinic publicly, ABC News reported. As part of the agreement, the clinic said it would implement new protocols and provide written assurances. Their story emerged shortly after an IVF center in Louisiana was shut down over a potential frozen‑embryo labeling mix‑up; the report also noted similar incidents in New York and Great Britain.
What would‑be parents can ask
In media interviews, including NBC’s Today show, the Savages urged people considering IVF to ask clinics specific questions about how embryos are labeled, stored, and cross‑checked. “What happened—the clinic’s mistake, the pregnancy, and the loss of Logan—will stay with us for the rest of our lives,” Carolyn said.
