A Florida woman is suing an Orlando-area fertility clinic after an alleged in vitro fertilization mix-up led her to give birth to a child who is not biologically hers.
The lawsuit, filed January 9, accuses the Fertility Center of Orlando and physician Milton McNichol of implanting the wrong embryo, resulting in a pregnancy that ended with a devastating discovery.
The plaintiffs, identified only as Jane Doe, 41, and her partner John Doe, 43, say they turned to the Longwood-based clinic hoping to start a family using embryos created from their own genetic material. According to the complaint, three viable embryos were cryogenically stored by the clinic. In March 2025, staff implanted one embryo into Jane Doe’s uterus. On December 11, she gave birth to what the lawsuit describes as a “beautiful, healthy” baby girl.
But the joy quickly turned to confusion. Both parents are white, yet the baby was described by their attorney as “very dark-skinned” and appearing Asian-American. Genetic testing later confirmed the newborn had no biological relationship to either parent.
“This is every IVF patient’s worst nightmare,” said the couple’s attorney, Jack Scarola. “While our clients continue to fall more deeply in love with a beautiful little girl who is someone else’s child, they are also living with the unbearable knowledge that there may be one or more of their own children unknowingly in the care of strangers.”
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the clinic to immediately notify potentially affected patients, pay for genetic testing, and disclose whether similar errors occurred over the past five years. Scarola says the clinic has been “totally uncooperative” in helping the couple determine what went wrong or where their biological child might be.
According to the attorney, another fertility patient could be raising the couple’s biological child without realizing it—particularly if there was no obvious racial difference to raise suspicion. “Other patients need to know about what has happened here,” Scarola said. “There is some client of that clinic whose baby we have, who has a right to know.”
McNichol was previously reprimanded by state regulators, fined $5,000, and ordered to complete ethics and risk management courses. His medical license remains active. The lawsuit, initially filed in Palm Beach County, was later transferred to either Orange or Seminole County, where the clinic is located. The couple lives in South Central Florida.
While IVF mix-ups are considered rare, they are not unprecedented. Similar lawsuits have emerged in California, New York, and Georgia over the past decade, including cases in which parents unknowingly raised children who were not biologically theirs—or were forced to give them up after months of bonding.
Experts say the lack of federal oversight leaves patients vulnerable. Dov Fox, a law professor at the University of San Diego, previously told NBC News there is no federal regulation requiring IVF clinics to report embryo mix-ups or follow uniform safeguards.
