An Oregon couple is suing after a fertility clinic allegedly inseminated the woman with sperm from a stranger instead of her husband, according to a lawsuit. The procedure, which took place at an Oregon hospital, resulted in the birth of a daughter who reportedly inherited health issues from her biological father.

Identified only as C.W. and K.W. in court documents, the couple claims they were denied the experience of conceiving a child together and are constantly reminded that their first child was not conceived as planned. They have filed a lawsuit against Oregon Health and Science University and Providence Health, seeking $17 million in compensation for their ordeal.

The lawsuit details the emotional and physical toll on C.W., who had to carry and deliver a child conceived with the sperm of another man, as well as the distress for K.W., who was deprived of being the biological father of their first child. The couple underwent the procedure at OHSU in 1981, following a referral to the family planning unit in Portland. The suit alleges that sperm from a man named R.W., who sought treatment at the same facility a year earlier, was mistakenly used for C.W. and K.W.’s procedure.

The couple underwent an insemination procedure at OHSU in 1981 after being referred to its family planning unit in Portland. A man identified as R.W. also sought fertility treatments at OHSU with his spouse a year earlier, with doctors obtaining his sperm and then “wrongfully” using it for C.W. and K.W.’s procedure, according to the complaint.

The couple had no idea what had happened. They didn’t find out about the alleged mistake “until less than two years” before filing their lawsuit on Dec. 26, 2025, in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

“To K.W.’s and C.W.’s excitement, C.W. became pregnant, and she gave birth to baby girl, A.P.,” the complaint explains. “[The couple] raised [A.P.] as their biological child never thinking that OHSU and/or Providence had wrongfully inseminated [C.W.] with foreign semen during her procedure.”

Genetic testing later revealed K.W. is not A.P.’s biological father. The alleged dad, R.W., also had a child with his spouse, according to the complaint.

OHSU is accused of attempting to “conceal or otherwise deny that they wrongfully inseminated C.W.,” the complaint says. “Further, OHSU has failed to properly investigate and notify its patients of medical errors after being placed on notice of plaintiffs’ claims.”

The parents say OHSU’s staff took possession of K.W.’s semen sample and failed to ensure “proper chain of custody in multiple regards.” They propose that K.W.’s sample could have been used to inseminate a wrong recipient, as well.

“OHSU’s and/or Providence’s procedures (if any) were woefully insufficient to ensure semen specimens were accurately received by the intended recipient,” the complaint alleges, noting how OHSU maintained “professional affiliations, agencies and relationships” with other medical facilities, entities and providers for the facilitation of medical care and fertility procedures for patients, including Providence St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, which is owned and operated by Providence Health.

“As a result of the above-described conduct, plaintiffs have suffered and continue to suffer mental and emotional anguish, physical pain, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress including embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life that have prevented and will continue to prevent plaintiffs from performing daily activities and obtaining the full enjoyment of life,” the couple’s lawyers say. “It remains unknown whether defendants performed any screening on the foreign donor prior to improperly using the donor’s material thereby exposing C.W. and A.P. to communicable diseases.”

OHSU and Providence did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Tuesday. Both declined to comment when reached by local media outlets.