White couple shocked after giving birth to Indian baby, discover IVF clinic implanted wrong embryo in mix-up months later

• Florida couple Tiffany Score and Steven Mills discovered their baby was not genetically theirs after an IVF mix-up.

• The couple said their daughter’s appearance raised concerns after her birth in December 2025.

• DNA testing confirmed the baby was not biologically related to either parent.

• The couple reached an agreement allowing them to retain permanent custody of the child.

A Florida couple who welcomed their first child through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) discovered months later that the fertility clinic had implanted the wrong embryo, leaving them raising a baby who was not genetically related to them.

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills used the Fertility Center of Orlando to conceive a child through IVF after trying to start a family. After a healthy pregnancy, Score gave birth to their daughter, Shea, in December 2025. 

However, the couple became concerned after noticing that their daughter did not appear to share their white ancestry. Genetic testing later confirmed that Shea was not biologically related to either Score or Mills, revealing that the embryo transferred during the IVF process was not theirs.

The discovery led the couple to file a lawsuit against the Florida clinic, seeking answers about what happened and asking for information about their embryos. According to court documents, the couple had three embryos stored at the clinic — one resulted in a miscarriage, another was moved to a different facility, while the status of the third remained unclear.

In a January letter to the Fertility Center of Orlando, the couple’s attorney argued that the racial difference between the parents and the baby was what brought attention to the alleged mistake.

“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,” attorney Jack Scarola wrote, according to court documents cited by The Guardian. 

The couple said that despite discovering Shea was not genetically theirs, they had already developed a strong emotional bond with her.

In a statement obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Mills and Score said: “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 couple later reached a custody agreement with Shea’s biological parents, who were identified in court filings as Patient 004. The agreement allows Score and Mills to retain permanent custody of Shea, while details of the arrangement remain private. 

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According to reports, the two families also agreed to build a relationship based on friendship and trust.

The Fertility Center of Orlando later shut down operations on May 20, 2026, following the controversy. The clinic had also faced separate legal issues unrelated to the embryo mix-up.

The case has highlighted concerns around embryo identification procedures in fertility clinics and the complicated legal and emotional questions that can arise when biological parenthood differs from the family that carries and raises a child.