Parents sue IVF clinic after giving birth to someone else’s baby

LONGWOOD, Fla. — A Florida couple has filed a lawsuit against an Orlando-area fertility clinic after genetic testing found the baby they welcomed in December is not biologically related to either of them, according to court records.

The couple, identified only as John and Jane Doe in the complaint filed Jan. 22 in Orange County Circuit Court, allege that an embryo implanted during an in vitro fertilization procedure at IVF Life Inc., doing business as the Fertility Center of Orlando, was not one of the embryos they had created and stored at the clinic. Dr. Milton McNichol, the clinic’s lead physician, also is named as a defendant.

The Does say they produced three embryos using the woman’s eggs and her partner’s sperm, and one was implanted in March 2025, resulting in a full-term pregnancy and the birth of a healthy daughter on Dec. 11. They became concerned after noticing physical characteristics they said did not resemble either parent and pursued genetic testing, which confirmed no biological relationship.

The couple had hired IVF Life, operating as the Fertility Center of Orlando, to help them conceive (Picture: WKMG)

While the couple says they love the child and have bonded with her, they are seeking court orders to locate her genetic parents and determine the status of their own embryos. The lawsuit requests that the clinic notify all patients with embryos in storage before the Doe implantation, pay for genetic testing for patients and children born from embryo implantations in the past five years, and disclose any parentage discrepancies found.

In a statement, the Fertility Center of Orlando said it is cooperating with an investigation into the error and working to identify how and where the alleged mix-up occurred, emphasizing its priority on transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved.

An emergency court hearing in the case was scheduled for Jan. 30.