A couple who were given a baby that was not biologically theirs after an embryo mix-up at a fertility clinic will still keep custody of the girl after reaching an agreement with her biological mother and father.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills underwent IVF treatment at a clinic in Orlando, Florida, but became concerned when the baby girl Score gave birth to looked totally different, and was seemingly a different race, to either parent.
The puzzled pair underwent extensive genetic testing on the child, who is called Shea, which according to the couple's attorney revealed that she was genetically South Asian, despite her supposed parents being Caucasian.
Following the gobsmacking discovery that neither parent was genetically related to the daughter they were raising, Score and Mills decided to sue the Fertility Center of Orlando, NBC News reports.
An attorney representing the family said: "In the absence of the racial disparity that alerted [Mills and Score] to your inexcusable error, the fact and results of the error might be concealed for years or left undiscovered indefinitely."
According to local reports, the lawsuit led to the revelation of the child's biological mother, who has not been named and is instead being referred to as "Patient 004", as well as her father.
Throughout the proceedings, Score and Mills maintained that they wanted custody over the child with whom they had developed a strong, emotional bond.
Court documents filed by the parents' attorney Mara Hatfield revealed that the two families had reached an agreement over the custody of the child, with Patient 004 officially recognising Score and Mills as permanent custodial parents.
In a statement obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, the couple said: "Questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered. Only one thing is as absolutely certain as it was on the day our daughter was born – we will love and be this child’s parents forever."
The fertility clinic at the centre of the mix-up has reportedly closed down, although an IVF facility has reportedly opened at the exact same location. The lawsuit between the parents and the clinic is ongoing while genetic testing is conducted on a frozen embryo that the clinic says belongs to Score and Mills. That embryo has since been moved to a separate facility.
