Tiffany Score and Steven Mills gave birth to a baby girl in December 2024 after undergoing IVF at the Fertility Clinic of Orlando. Genetic testing after birth confirmed that the couple are not the biological parents of the child, whom they named Shea. According to the lawsuit, the IVF clinic allegedly confused embryos during implantation, transferring an embryo not from the couple's gametes.
The couple sued the Fertility Clinic of Orlando and Dr. Milton McNichol for negligence in January 2025. The lawsuit requested that the clinic help unite Shea with her genetic parents and account for the couple's missing embryos. According to the couple, they were told one embryo was preserved, but it has not been accounted for.
Genetic testing results delivered on Tuesday identified another couple, referred to as Patient 004, as Shea's biological parents. The couple issued a statement through their attorney confirming the genetic parents have been identified. The couple is respecting the privacy of Shea's genetic parents, who have not been named publicly.
Several families believe they may be related to Shea.
Score and Mills initially said they felt a moral obligation to find Shea's genetic parents, but now want to keep raising her as their own. In a statement, the couple said they will love and be Shea's parents forever. Score wrote on Facebook that she and Mills feel gratitude and joy, not anger, and that Shea is theirs in every way that matters.
It is unclear if the couple will get to keep custody of Shea. The couple previously stated they hope to continue raising Shea with confidence she won't be taken away.
According to initial investigation, about a dozen people may have been affected by similar embryo mix-ups at the same lab. The couple's lawyer told People that several families believe they may be related to Shea. DNA tests were launched on people who had embryo implantations in 2025 at the lab to identify Shea's biological parents.
The couple is seeking answers about their own embryos, whether they still exist or if they may have biological children elsewhere.