A mum has revealed her shock at discovering her 12-year-old son was not fathered by her husband after doing a DNA test “for fun”.
Donna and Vanner Johnson wanted to know more about their heritage so took DNA tests along with their eldest son Vanner Jr and younger son Tim. But when the results returned, Tim’s father was listed as “unknown” and therefore not Vanner’s.
Mum gets shock over ‘fun’ DNA test
Tim was conceived through IVF after Donna and Vanner, from Salt Lake City, Utah, struggled to get pregnant after hernia issues. They opted to use Donna’s eggs and what they thought was Vanner’s sperm. But Donna had a moment of “sickening clarity”. She “immediately” realised that something must have gone wrong in the IVF process.
Donna and Vanner admitted they were worried that Tim may be taken away from them as they didn’t know what rights his biological father had. While they were assured that Tim was legally theirs, Donna suffered from depression after the revelation.
The parents were faced with the tough decision of telling their 12-year-old son that Vanner was not his biological father. Vanner said he took Tim for ice cream and explained what happened. The couple believed it was better to not wait until Tim was an adult to tell him. Tim knew he was conceived through IVF, and his parents said he had a “mature” response, and “always accepted” that Vanner was his father, no matter what.
But Tim eventually decided he wanted to know who his biological father was, and searching social media led them to Tim’s biological aunt.
A fertility clinic mix-up
Futherer investigation led them to her blog, where they discovered her brother Devin McNeil. He lived in Colorado, eight hours away from the family. In March 2021, Tim agreed with his parents to call Devin, knowing the call could dramatically change their lives.
While he was sceptical, the facts added up and Devin agreed to do a DNA test. Donna said that Devin and his wife Kelly were “lovely” and agreed there would be no custody battle. When DNA results confirmed Devin was Tim’s father, the families decided to look for answers.
Devin and his wife Kelly had attended the same IVF clinic at Tim’s parents on the same day, 14 years earlier. Donna had gone in for an egg retrieval, while Kelly went for embryo implantation for her eldest son, Talon. Devin was also the father of Talon. That means the fertility clinic had not swapped the sperm samples, but somehow used Devin’s for both, leaving Vanners un-used. The Johnsons said they “trusted” their fertility clinic completely, and “couldn’t believe” the error in the lab.
The families warning
In 2021, the two families met. Donna admitted it was “surreal” hugging a stranger that she “made a baby with”. Vanner revealed that when the families met, he asked if Tim wanted a photo with Devin. Tim replied that he wanted both his dads in the picture, leading an emotional Donna to reveal she nearly cried.
The families have kept in touch since with regular calls, texts and video chats, and have met up several times since. They reportedly settled out of court with the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine in 2022, for an undisclosed amount. The families are also encouraging everyone who’s gone through IVF to get DNA tests, and to potentially prepare for difficult results.
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