Couple in IVF Mix-Up Reaches Deal to Keep Baby with Bio Parents
A Florida couple who received the wrong embryo during IVF will remain permanent parents of their six-month-old daughter despite having no genetic relationship to the child.
Steven Mills and Tiffany Score successfully located the biological parents of their daughter Shea and reached a mutually agreed custody arrangement, according to Breitbart News, which cited court documents filed in Orange County court last Friday.
While the couple has chosen to keep most terms of the agreement confidential, court filings confirm that Mills and Score will continue serving as Shea’s permanent custodial parents. Their attorney stated the couple remains committed to safeguarding the privacy of the child’s biological parents and have established what they hope will be an ongoing relationship built on friendship and trust.
The controversy erupted in January when Mills and Score filed suit against the Fertility Center of Orlando and its chief reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging the wrong embryo was implanted during their treatment. The error only became apparent when Shea was born on December 11, 2025, and the newborn was clearly not Caucasian.
DNA testing confirmed the couple’s suspicions, revealing they share no genetic connection with Shea, who is fully South Asian by ancestry.
Court records show the couple has transferred their care to a different medical facility and moved their one remaining embryo there. They plan to conduct parentage testing on that embryo before determining how to proceed. Mills and Score also informed the court they obtained documentation from the Fertility Center of Orlando that exposed laboratory and clinical errors in their case.
Orange County Judge Margaret Schreiber expressed relief during a Monday hearing that the parties reached resolution while the child remains very young, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The couple had originally created three embryos at the fertility center. One implantation resulted in a miscarriage for Score. A second embryo was used in the procedure that led to Shea’s birth, while the fate of the third embryo remains unclear.
The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced in recent months that it will permanently close its operations on May 20 following what it described as thoughtful deliberation.
Mills and Score previously declared that one certainty has never wavered since their daughter’s birth: their unconditional love for the child and their permanent commitment to serving as her parents.
With information from Breitbart News
