A couple is alleging in a lawsuit that a fertility clinic in Orlando, Florida, may have mixed up embryos, which led to the birth of a baby girl that was not biologically theirs.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills claim the Orlando fertility clinic implanted another patient’s embryo.
The couple has therefore filed a lawsuit alleging a serious error at a fertility clinic which they claimed led to the birth of a “non-Caucasian child” who is not biologically related to them.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills say the Fertility Centre of Orlando clinic in Florida implanted the wrong embryo during fertility treatment.
The lawsuit names IVF Life, Inc. and its lead reproductive endocrinologist, Dr Milton McNichol. It was filed last week in Orange County Circuit Court. The couple alleges that in April 2025 another patient’s embryo was mistakenly implanted in Score’s uterus. They say the error occurred despite safeguards that should have prevented such a mix-up.
According to court papers, Score and Mills stored three viable embryos at the clinic in 2020. The embryos were created through in vitro fertilisation and kept for future use. IVF Life promotes its services as offering “advanced fertility care” and “cutting-edge technology”. Five years later, an embryo was implanted.
The lawsuit is seeking emergency court action to force the clinic to alert all affected patients, pay for widespread genetic testing, and disclose whether other families may have been impacted by the embryo mix-up.
Score gave birth to a “beautiful, healthy female child” on December 11, last year. The parents say they immediately realised something was wrong after the birth. The lawsuit states that both parents are “Caucasian”. It says the baby “displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child”.
Genetic testing was later carried out. It confirmed the child had “no genetic relationship” to either parent.
The couple’s lawyer, John Scarola, said he wrote to the clinic on January 5. The letter demanded that the clinic reunite the baby “with her genetic parents”. It also sought an explanation for what happened to his clients’ embryos.
Beyond the immediate shock, the couple fears a wider error. They worry that another patient may have been implanted with their embryo. That person could now be pregnant with or raising their biological child.
The lawsuit says Score and Mills formed an “intensely strong emotional bond” with the baby during the pregnancy. That bond has continued to grow since the birth. The child remains in their care. Although they are willing to raise the child themselves, the couple says they feel a legal and moral duty to act.
They believe the baby should be reunited with her genetic parents if those parents wish to come forward. “They have fallen in love with this child,” Scarola said. “They would be thrilled in the knowledge that they could raise this child. But their concern is that this is someone else’s child, and someone could show up at any time and claim the baby and take that baby away from them.”
The lawsuit is seeking emergency court action. It asks a judge to order the clinic to alert all potentially affected patients. It also demands that the clinic pay for widespread genetic testing.
The couple wants disclosure of whether other families may have been impacted by an embryo mix-up.
An emergency hearing was held on Wednesday. It took place before Judge Margaret Schreiber. Scarola told the court the error could have occurred in 2020 or during the 2025 implantation.
He demanded five years of clinic-paid genetic testing. Scarola described the mistake as a “horrendous error”. He said it was fortunate that such incidents are “very uncommon”. He also acknowledged the legal difficulty of the case.
“There’s not a lot of Florida law for you all to reach a resolution that will provide the answers that the plaintiffs in this case are seeking, and the protections that the defendants are wanting to ensure remain in place for their clients,” Schreiber said.
Judge Margaret Schreiber ordered the clinic to submit detailed plans on how it is addressing the situation.
Dr McNichol received his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 2004. He has been praised by patients and colleagues for his bedside manner and clinical expertise, according to Issuewire.com.
He has received six Patients’ Choice Awards, four Compassionate Doctor recognitions, and a top-ten doctor ranking in Florida in 2014.
In a notice later removed from its website, IVF Life said it is “actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them.”
The Mirror has contacted the Fertility Centre of Orlando and Dr McNichol for comment.
Source: Daily Mirror
