Couple who were implanted with another family's embryo in IVF mix-up are allowed to keep the child and raise her as their own

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:22, 15 June 2026 | Updated: 21:26, 15 June 2026 A Florida couple who were implanted with another family's embryo in a shocking IVF mix-up say they will raise the baby girl as their own.  Tiffany Score and Steven Mills say they have reached an agreement with the genetic parents of their baby girl Shea, allowing them to keep her. The parents, who are white, made headlines in December when they welcomed the baby girl, who is black, as they quickly realized Tiffany had given birth to the wrong child.  They said they tracked down the identity of their daughter's biological parents in April, and told them that despite the mix-up they wanted to keep Shea no matter what.  In a court hearing this week in Seminole County, a judge allowed a 'mutually devised custody agreement' that will allow the couple to 'continue as the permanent custodial parents of their daughter', reports the Orlando Sentinel. At Monday's hearing, Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schreiber said: 'I’m glad the parties have reached an agreement while this child is relatively young.' The case was decided in court as the bizarre mistake left their rights unclear under Florida law.  The couple are suing the Fertility Center of Orlando and doctor Milton McNichol for negligence, but said they only wanted to find Shea's biological parents out of a 'moral obligation'. The fertility clinic later admitted that they had implanted the wrong embryo, as testing showed Steven's sperm was mixed with an egg from another woman.  Tiffany Score and Steven Mills, a Florida couple who were implanted with another family's embryo in a shocking IVF mix-up, say they have reached an agreement to raise the baby girl as their own Score gave birth to the girl in December, and said even though it was instantly apparent that a mistake had been made, she and Mills loved their baby girl Shea and wanted to keep her  The biological parents have not been publicly identified and are referenced as 'Patient 004' in court documents.  The fertility clinic said the biological parents were traced through extensive DNA testing of all embryos created at the same time as Score and Mills, with Patient 004 identified because she was the only other patient in March 2020, the Sentinel reported.  In their recent court hearing, Score and Mills said they found another fertility center to send their remaining frozen embryos from the Fertility Center of Orlando.  The couple said in a statement when the biological parents were found that while they felt a 'moral obligation' to find Shea's biological parents, they love their baby daughter and had no intentions of giving her up. 'This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,' they said at the time.  'In addition, questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and 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.' They said they developed an 'intensely strong emotional bond' with Shea, and would fight to keep her.   The couple welcomed Shea into their lives in December 2025, after having received treatment at the Fertility Clinic of Orlando (pictured) The couple sued the clinic and their fertility doctor Milton McNichol for negligence in January After genetic testing identified Shea's biological parents, Score (pictured with her daughter) and Mills issued a statement vowing that they 'will love and will be this child's parents forever' 'We love our little girl, and if possible, we would hope to be able to continue to raise her ourselves with confidence that she won't be taken away from us.' Photos shared on Score's Facebook page depict a seemingly happy family-of-three. The couple and Shea are seen smiling and enjoying each other's embraces. The new mother said in a post that although their situation is 'impossible and deeply frustrating,' she and Mills are not angry. 'What we are feeling right now isn't anger, it's gratitude. Gratitude and joy for our healthy, beautiful baby girl. Gratitude that we get to hold her, kiss her, and love her,' she wrote. 'She is the light of our lives and the one beautiful thing that has come from all of this. No matter how or why this happened, she is ours in every way that matters. The moments we share with her are everything. 'We are so overwhelmed by the support we have received as we continue to seek answers about our own embryos, if they still exist, or if we may have biological children somewhere in the world.' Score had her eggs removed and joined with Mills's sperm through in vitro fertilization six years ago. Their embryos were subsequently frozen, the lawsuit said. She had an embryo transfer in February 2025, which failed, and a second one April 7 that same year, according to the complaint. Embryos are stored in labelled straws before being slipped into a petri dish for rehydration and placed in an incubator to be monitored for one to two hours, the filing said. Afterwards, an embryo is implanted into the patient. Jack Scarola, an attorney for the Mills, previously told the Daily Mail that despite finding the biological parents, there are still 'remaining questions about the fate of Tiffany and Steven's unaccounted for embryos.' 'In addition, the safe transfer, confirmation of identity, and protection of the single remaining embryo the clinic attributes to our clients are still pending,' he said. The parents made headlines in December when they welcomed the baby girl, as they quickly realized Tiffany had given birth to the wrong baby Tiffany said despite the mix-up, she and Mills formed an 'intensely strong bond' with Shea  Lawyers for McNichol filed a motion to dismiss their lawsuit which proved unsuccessful. They said the case should be tossed because: 'Plaintiffs (1) fail to set forth a valid cause of action against Defendant; and (2) fail to otherwise meet the requirements for emergency and/or preliminary injunctive relief against the Defendant.' They claimed the couple's request to locate Shea's biological parents would result in a violation of other patients' privacy. 'Plaintiffs cite no basis in any rule, statute or case which would give this Court any authority to require Defendant to go into patient files and contact patients of his practice who had embryos in storage in the Defendant’s office, to send an unsolicited copy of the Plaintiffs Amended Complaint and a copy of a photograph of the infant Plaintiff, somehow, with no description of how, affording these patients the opportunity to determine whether the infant Plaintiff might be their child or whether these patients may have been the recipient of one of their embryos,' the filing states. McNichol still has an active medical license, according to the Florida Department of Health. It is set to expire in January 2028. McNichol was reprimanded by Florida's Board of Medicine in May 2024 after an inspection of the clinic in June 2023 revealed several issues. These reportedly included equipment that 'did not meet current performance standards,' not complying with a risk-management agenda and missing medication. He was fined $5,000 as a result of the offenses. The Daily Mail previously contacted attorneys for McNichol, the Fertility Clinic of Orlando and Patient 004 for comment following the filing of the couple's lawsuit.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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