Florida Couple Alleges Fertility Clinic Used Wrong Sperm in IVF After DNA Test Shows 'That Trust Was Betrayed'

Joshua and Natalie Strong turned to Brown Fertility in Jacksonville after Joshua underwent surgery to retrieve sperm for IVF, producing four vials intended to help them have a biological child. After Natalie gave birth in June 2025, however, blood typing and a DNA test indicated Joshua was not the baby's biological father, according to their lawsuit. The Florida couple now allege in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Duval County Circuit Court that the fertility clinic used the wrong sperm.

Florida Couple Entrusted Four Vials To Fertility Clinic

The news came after Joshua, who had previously undergone a vasectomy, required an invasive sperm retrieval procedure before IVF could begin. The Strongs said the four vials obtained were delivered to Brown Fertility with instructions that they be used to fertilise Natalie's oocytes.

The couple paid Brown Fertility tens of thousands of dollars for treatment.

Their first attempt ended when Natalie miscarried one month into the pregnancy in mid-2024. The Strongs allege that Brown Fertility also used the wrong sperm during that pregnancy, although the claim has not been independently verified.

A second procedure led to their daughter's birth in June 2025. According to the lawsuit, newborn blood typing produced a result incompatible with the parents' blood types. The baby was B Positive, while Natalie is O Negative and Joshua is A Negative.

The filing describes that outcome as biologically impossible. Further DNA testing found a 0% probability that Joshua was the child's biological father.

Wrong Sperm Allegation Leaves DNA Questions

The lawsuit names Dr Samuel Brown and 10 other defendants. 'They trusted Brown Fertility, as well as its founder and owner, Samuel E. Brown, M.D., with the family they hoped to build. That trust was betrayed,' the filing states.

The Strongs said they informed the clinic of the DNA results but received no answers. Their lawsuit alleges that Brown Fertility and Dr Brown have not explained what happened or accounted for Joshua's cryopreserved sperm.

They do not know whether the four vials were misplaced, discarded or used to create an embryo for another patient. 'The Strongs do not know whether Joshua has biological children, fathered without his knowledge, being raised today by other Brown Fertility patients who have no idea,' the filing states.

These remain allegations in a civil lawsuit. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify them. No response from Brown Fertility, Dr Brown or the other defendants is included in the supplied material. The allegations should be treated with caution.

Florida Couple Describe Joy And Anger

Joshua told First Coast News that the situation was 'a daily struggle' because sadness and anger could exist alongside joy and love.

Natalie said the discovery changed what should have been a joyful period after the birth. 'It took away the euphoria of having a baby,' she said. 'It was my first child, I was in heaven. It was the best day of my life and then when that hit us, it took all the happiness away, which we should have had for a very long time.'

The lawsuit says Natalie faces the daily knowledge that her body was allegedly used twice to carry a stranger's child. It says Joshua is raising a daughter with whom he has no biological connection while confronting the unresolved fate of his sperm.

The Strongs are seeking damages exceeding $50,000 (£37,345) and have requested a jury trial. The central questions remain how the alleged mix-up occurred and what happened to Joshua's four vials.