ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) — A Central Florida couple who discovered after their daughter’s birth that she was not genetically related to either of them will continue raising the child under a custody agreement reached with her biological parents, according to court records.
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills had their daughter in December after undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment through the Fertility Center of Orlando in Longwood. The couple later learned through genetic testing that the embryo transferred during the procedure was not theirs.
Court filings say the two families have reached a private custody arrangement. Under the agreement, Score and Mills will retain permanent legal custody of the baby girl. Other terms of the agreement were not made public.
The development marks a major turn in a case that has drawn attention to safeguards and accountability in fertility treatment. Score and Mills sued the clinic earlier this year, seeking answers about how the alleged embryo mix-up occurred, whether other patients were affected, and what happened to their own embryos.
The couple’s lawsuit asked the court to require the clinic to notify relevant patients, pay for genetic testing, and disclose any known parentage discrepancies involving children born from embryos handled by the clinic. In April, their attorney confirmed that the baby’s biological parents had been identified.
See also: 14-year-old killed by speeding BMW in Boynton Beach, police say
Court records also show that Score and Mills have moved forward with another fertility provider. Their new facility contacted the Fertility Center of Orlando to arrange the transfer of an embryo believed to belong to the couple. That embryo is expected to undergo genetic testing before the couple decides what to do next.
The case is not over. According to the filings, information gathered so far points to possible laboratory or clinic errors, and Score and Mills may seek to expand their lawsuit to include additional claims or defendants. They are also continuing to investigate the fate of embryos handled by the clinic.
The Fertility Center of Orlando has closed and is facing multiple lawsuits connected to the incident.