A Florida IVF clinic is being sold amid its involvement in a lawsuit following an embryo mix up resulting in a woman giving birth to a baby not genetically hers.
IVF Life Inc., located in Orlando, will change ownership May 1, the clinic’s attorney revealed in a court hearing March 30. Attorney Robert Terenzio declined to say who the new owners are because he did not think the hearing was the appropriate time to disclose that information.
However, he did say letters are being sent out to all IVF Life clients informing them of the change in ownership, which is how Tiffany Score and Steven Mills found out about the impending transaction, according to their attorney. Score and Mills filed a lawsuit against IVF Life and McNichol after their daughter was born in December and genetic testing proved she was not biologically theirs.
“Those folks who have material stored here are going to be provided a timeline within which either to transfer their material to another facility or to maintain storage with the people that are coming in,” Terenzio said.
Judge Margaret Schreiber called the news “a bit of a curveball” and wanted to know if the new owners will assume liability for the cost of testing being done to determine the biological parents of the baby born from the embryo mix up. Terenzio said he couldn’t be sure, but he assumed responsibility would remain with IVF Life and the doctor who runs it, Milton McNichol.
“I want somebody to be responsible for paying for the testing,” Schreiber said. “I don’t want to get stuck because the clinic was sold and nobody’s going to pay for this analysis and that’s my biggest concern right now.”
What is the status of finding baby’s biological parents in embryo mixup?
During the hearing March 30, attorneys provided a status update and said test results were still pending for one patient in particular. Results for the unidentified woman were expected to be back this week.
How did the Florida IVF clinic mixup the embryo?
At a court hearing Feb. 18, attorneys for Score and Mills said it’s likely the embryo mix-up happened six years ago when Score had her eggs removed and joined with Mills’ sperm through in vitro fertilization and resulted in embryos that were later frozen.
Hatfield said during the same timeframe, the couple’s embryos, as well as other patients’ embryos were not labeled for a time. There is a possibility the mix-up could have occurred in April 2025 when Score was implanted with an embryo at the clinic, Hatfield said.
The parties also said they are still trying to figure out the parameters of the mistake — if all of Score and Mills’ embryos were swapper with another couple, or if it was just one.
Florida couple feels obligated to find baby’s biological parents
Score and Mills made a social media post asking for prayers as they navigate “this deeply confusing and painful time” with their daughter Shea, born December 11. They also expressed “unbearable” fear that their daughter might be taken from them at any time.
“I have a million things I want to say and so many emotions I wish I could share, but for now, this is what we are able to tell you: due to a medical error — the wrong embryo implanted by the doctor — Shea is not genetically related to either Steve or me,” Score wrote. “While we are profoundly grateful to have Shea in our lives and love her immeasurably, we also recognize that we have a moral obligation to find her genetic parents.”
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida judge says new development in embryo mixup is a ‘curveball’
