Florida couple to raise child from IVF embryo mix-up after custody deal

A Florida couple who welcomed a child who was genetically unrelated to them after an alleged embryo mix-up at a fertility clinic they later sued will raise the child as their own after reaching an agreement with the child’s biological parents, according to the couple.

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills had a daughter named Shea in December last year. Genetic testing later revealed that the baby was related to another set of parents, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against now-defunct fertility clinic IVF Life, Inc., which operated as Orlando Fertility Center before closing last month.

Score and Mills said they reached a “mutually designed custody agreement” with Shea’s biological parents and plan to develop a “relationship of friendship and trust” together, according to ABC News.

According to the custody agreement made on June 12, the couple will continue to raise Shea as their own and remain his custodial parents.

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Jack Scarola, the couple’s attorney, said Score and Mills appreciated how news of the confusion helped them connect with Shea’s biological parents.

“Tiffany and Steve are aware of the public interest in the details of their in vitro fertilization experience and appreciate the role the news media played in bringing them and Shea to the point where Shea’s genetic parents could be identified and fears about Shea’s future were allayed,” Scarola said in a statement to ABC News. he said.

“Tiffany and Steve are determined to respect[ing] Privacy concerns of Shea’s genetic parents, with whom they have begun to develop and plan to continue a friendship and trusting relationship. They are also committed to protecting Shea from harmful intrusions on his privacy,” Scarola added.

Score and Mills are affiliated with IVF Life, Inc., according to ABC News. and Dr., who ran the fertility clinic before it was closed. In their lawsuit against Milton McNichol, they said they used the clinic’s services to assist them with the IVF process and contracted with the clinic for “cryogenic storage of three viable embryos.”

The couple claimed the clinic implanted an embryo into Score’s womb in March last year that was “not one of the embryos produced” by her and her partner.

The couple said they reached a “mutually designed custody agreement” with Shea’s biological parents. (GoFundMe)

When their daughter was born in December, Score and Mills, who are both white, said their daughter “exhibited the physical appearance of a child who is not racially Caucasian.” They then used genetic testing and confirmed that the baby was not biologically related to them.

They called on the clinic to bring the case to the attention of “all patients with embryos in storage” to determine whether they had received an embryo belonging to Score and Mills.

Score and Mills also demanded that the clinic cover the cost of “genetic testing for all patients and the children of all patients whose births result from embryo implantation.” [the clinic’s] Services in the last five years,” which is the time period during which the clinic delivered its embryos.

The pair also called on the clinic to explain any discrepancies in parenting.

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Two parents, both white, said that when their daughters were born, their daughters “exhibited the physical appearance of a child who was not racially Caucasian.” (GoFundMe)

In last week’s custody filing, Score and Mills said they learned “Plaintiffs’ and other patients’ embryo history,” which “revealed laboratory-clinical errors that would prove claims against current defendants and others without having to meet medical malpractice lawsuit prerequisites.”

They said they decided to store one of their embryos at a different facility.

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IVF Life, Inc. has previously said it was “actively collaborating with an investigation to support one of our patients in identifying the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who was not genetically related to them.”

“Multiple organizations are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help determine when and where the error occurred,” the clinic said in a statement in January. he said. “Our priority is transparency and the health of the patient and child involved. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, we will continue to assist in any way we can.”