Almost 12 years after becoming parents again, a couple learned something profoundly shocking that turned their lives topsy-turvy. In a heart-rending turn of events, it was revealed that another man had fathered their beloved son. Becoming parents to a little one is a precious feeling and a total game-changer for any couple. The moment parents lay eyes on their bundle of joy, their hearts swell with indescribable emotions, and they understand the essence of genuine love.
Holding a tiny life in one’s arms is an experience unlike any other and gives parents a sense of finally being whole. While it doesn’t happen often, parents sometimes endure unlikely situations, like taking home the wrong baby. In addition to being switched at birth, IVF mix-up is another unusual occurrence, which involves the likelihood of carrying the wrong baby. One can only imagine the shock, trauma, and pain that the couples endure in such heart-wrenching circumstances. Today’s story centers around something similar.
Donna and Vanner Johnson were happily married and lived with their two children in Salt Lake City, Utah. One day, while wanting to have fun with their kids, they crossed out the typical “let’s go to the movies” option and picked something else instead. The couple ordered DNA test kits from 23andMe, but after taking the tests, they forgot all about them until the fateful day when the results arrived. It was summer 2019, and the Johnsons were all set to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Donna was busy with something when she received a phone call from her husband. She told TODAY: “My husband called and said, ‘Hey, I got my results back.’ But he said there was something off.” Later, the Johnsons sat down and carefully examined the DNA report. According to the test results, their youngest son’s relatives didn’t seem to match the family. While Donna was listed under “mother,” the couple was taken aback when they spotted the word “unknown” under the father’s category.
Initially, Donna and Vanner thought it was a mistake. The couple had always known their two sons were different in character, but they had never questioned their genetic heritage until they took the DNA test “for fun.” Donna said she looked at the results again and noticed something unusual. She added:
“I looked at my son’s results and it said that he had a half-brother through me, and it all came crashing down. I knew something was wrong.” The Johnsons recalled that after the birth of their first child, Vanner underwent three hernia surgeries that damaged his vas deferens, making it impossible for the couple to have another baby without medical intervention. The Utah-based couple said they had always wanted a large family, so they sought help from the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine to undergo IVF.
Shortly afterward, Donna noted that she became pregnant with their second son, Tim. Next, the mcneils sat down with their three children, who were six, eight, and 13 at the time, and told them they had a biological half-brother. While holding the shocking DNA results, Donna and Vanner finally knew what had gone wrong during the IVF process almost 12 years ago — another man’s sperm was used to fertilize Donna’s egg. But with that realization came a shock wave of other emotions.
The Johnsons had difficulty handling the newfound information, but they knew they had to share the news with their son. So, Vanner said he took his boy out for ice cream to break the story. He explained: “Because the mistake happened to me, I felt like I needed to talk to him, father to son. So I took my son on a drive to get ice cream.” Vanner described that he and Donna never hid from Tim that he was conceived through IVF, so he began the conversation by reminding his son that Donna had gone through IVF to have him.
The father then asked his son if he remembered taking the DNA test. To Vanner’s relief, Tim said he remembered. Vanner continued: “Then I said that the tests found that when we got pregnant with you, and we went through IVF, something happened in the lab, some kind of mix up, and it turns out that I am not your biological father.” Vanner recalled how his 12-year-old son looked down at his lap throughout the conversation, and after hearing the shocking news, he started looking out the window.
Then, he turned to look at his dad and asked him if he was sure about it. When Vanner assured his boy it was all true, Tim replied, “The only thing I wish is that I knew what I would look like with your genes.” Remembering what his son said next, Vanner expressed: “He [Tim] said that whatever happens, I’m still his dad. And I said, ‘Yeah, I am. I will always be your dad.'” The Johnsons noted that their son took a few weeks to process the information. Then, it was finally time for Donna and Vanner to share the news with their firstborn and Tim’s older brother.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s still my brother,” responded their elder son. After Tim’s approval, the couple started looking for his birth father. They purchased another DNA test kit from Ancestry.com, and the results listed multiple biological family members — aunts, first cousins, and a grandmother. Eventually, the Johnsons found a couple in Colorado, Devin and Kelly McNeil, who had three children of their own. Devin told his wife about a strange phone call he received from a man named Vanner who asked if they ever did IVF.
The Johnsons and McNeils talked on FaceTime, and after a series of inquiries, Devin agreed to do a DNA test, which the Johnsons would pay for. While waiting for the findings, the families communicated via text and FaceTime. Donna described how she looked for Tim in Devin’s face every time she saw him but couldn’t connect the dots because Devin had a beard. However, Donna later stated that she saw a picture of Devin without the beard and noticed a dimple on his chin. Tim, she noted, had the same dimple.
Devin’s test results finally arrived, confirming what the families had assumed all along: Devin was Tim’s birth father. The McNeils then told their three children, who were six, eight, and thirteen at the time, that they had a biological half-brother. Devin and Kelly expressed their delight at learning that all three of their children were anxious to meet Tim. Kelly also recalled a poignant remark made by her eight-year-old son at the moment. She mentioned the following:
“‘I heard on a show once that life doesn’t always give you the presents you want, but the actual gift is life itself,’ he explained. He got it from a cartoon he was watching. I recall thinking that we ought to write that down because our youngster had just taught us all a lesson.” According to the Daily Mail, both couples filed a lawsuit against the Utah facility seeking compensation.
They have also managed to stay in touch and maintain a courteous relationship, but they are still dealing with the emotional fallout from the surprising revelation. While Tim will always be Vanner’s son, the emotionally draining ordeal left him, Donna, and the McNeils with a lot to deal with, and we can only hope that no other family has to go through what they did.
What do you think about this story? Do you believe the Johnsons did the right thing in informing Tim? What would you do differently if you were in their shoes? Another story you might enjoy is about a widower who was left with a four-month-old boy. He did a DNA test and learned that the baby belonged to someone else.