A couple from Florida is taking legal action against a fertility clinic after discovering they were implanted with the wrong embryo. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills have filed a lawsuit against IVF Life Inc, which operates as the Fertility Center of Orlando, and its lead physician, Dr Milton McNichol.
Three viable embryos were created using Score’s eggs and Mills’s sperm, and an embryo was successfully implanted in April 2025. However, shortly after the birth of their daughter Shea on 11 December, the couple, who are both Caucasian, noticed the baby appeared to be of a different race. Genetic testing confirmed the child had no genetic relationship to either parent.
In a Facebook post on 29 January, Score explained the situation and expressed a moral obligation to find Shea’s biological parents. She wrote: 'While we are profoundly grateful to have Shea in our lives and love her immeasurably, we also recognise that we have a moral obligation to find her genetic parents.' The couple also fear that their own genetic embryo may have been implanted in another family.
The Fertility Center of Orlando acknowledged the error in a now-deleted statement, saying it was cooperating with an investigation to determine how the mistake occurred. The clinic pledged transparency and support for the family. A spokesperson for the couple’s legal team stated that the primary objective is to identify the genetic parents and locate the missing embryos, rather than financial damages.
