The biological parents of a child at the center of a fertility embryo mix-up have been located. Still, an attorney for the couple raising the child said a transfer is not being planned or contemplated.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills are the Florida couple at the center of the saga.
Score gave birth to a baby girl on Dec. 11 after undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the Fertility Clinic of Orlando in April 2025, according to a January lawsuit filed against the clinic, IVF Life Inc., and Dr. Milton McNichol, the doctor who ran the practice.
A photo of Tiffany Score and Steven Mills with their baby. The baby’s face was blurred by the family’s lawyer.
The baby she gave birth to appeared to be a different race than Score and Mills, who are both White, and testing showed she had “no genetic relationship” to either parent, according to the lawsuit.
The child has been in the couple’s care since her birth. Here’s a look back at the case and what may happen next now that the biological parents have been found.
‘We will love and will be this child’s parents forever’
In an emailed statement provided to USA TODAY on April 23, the couple’s attorney, Jack Scarola, said genetic testing results recently confirmed the identity of the child’s biological parents. However, their identities are not being made public due to their request for privacy.
“This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,” the couple said in a written statement provided by their attorney. “Questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered, and under the circumstances now known to exist, those questions are even more unlikely to ever be answered.
“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born – we will love and will be this child’s parents forever.”
The couple believes their single remaining embryo remains with the clinic. According to court documents, transport for the embryo is being arranged for early May. The couple has secured another facility for treatment.
According to the lawsuit, the couple remains concerned that other patients may have been implanted with their embryos, is pregnant or is the parent of one or more of their children.
The lawsuit requests the clinic undertake free genetic testing for all patients and children whose birth resulted from embryo implantation throughout the last five years, the amount of time the clinic had the couple’s embryos in its possession.
A photo of Tiffany Score with her baby. The baby’s face was blurred by the family’s lawyer.
What happened to the fertility clinic the couple used?
Earlier this year, the clinic sent out a letter to patients notifying them of its closure. The clinic simultaneously announced CNY Fertility will be opening in the same location. The letter did not state a reason for the closure.
The business also did not say when its last day of operations would be, but asked patients to make arrangements for the transfer of all cryopreserved specimens no later than April 15. The plaintiffs alleged in court records that McNichol has been associated with the entity taking over the clinic.
What happens now that the biological parents have been identified?
It’s unclear what happens now that the child’s biological parents have been located. Scarola confirmed in an email to USA TODAY that the couple is not in the process of handing over the child to her genetic parents.
A status report filed on April 22 states the biological parents and the couple will meet in person regarding next steps.
Despite no current planned transfer, the lawsuit adds Score and Mills would willingly keep her in their care, but recognizes the baby should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her, the complaint notes.
More: Fertility clinic closing after couple gave birth to someone else’s baby
The lawsuit doesn’t stipulate specific damages being sought.
“There is no adequate remedy at law for the ongoing loss, injury and damage inflicted on the plaintiffs as a direct consequence of the afore-described acts and omissions on the part of the defendants,” the lawsuit states.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biological parents found in Florida embryo mix-up. What happens next?
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