Couple Takes DNA Test As A Prank, But The Result Shocks The Entire Family

A Utah couple was left stunned after a DNA test they took for fun revealed a shocking truth.

Vanner and Donna Johnson of Salt Lake City decided to undergo IVF treatment in 2007 when they were trying to have a second child but were having trouble conceiving naturally.

The couple were thrilled to welcome a son and as he grew older, they were open to conceiving him through IVF.

However, things took a shocking turn for the family more than a decade after their son was born, when they decided to take one of the popular “23andMe” DNA tests for fun.

When the results came back, the family was disconcerted to see the name of their son’s father listed as “unknown.”

Recalling the ordeal in an interview with ABC4, Donna said, “When my results came back showing two sons right away and seeing that our oldest was a half-brother to his younger brother, through me, we knew there had to be something wrong.”

Another rapid DNA test then confirmed that Vanner was not the biological father of her son, meaning Donna’s egg was fertilized by someone else’s sperm during the IVF process.

“We had to deal with a lot of emotions, including the separation from our son’s love that hasn’t changed… and the problem that we were facing,” Vanner said. “This mistake that happened, how could it happen, why did it happen and what do we do now?”

The family waited a year to find the right time to talk to their son about what had happened, but thankfully he seemed to accept his new reality.

Vanner then conducted additional research and testing to try to discover the identity of her son’s biological father, and identified a man named Devin.

After tracking him down, Vanner called Devin and asked if he had ever had IVF – which he had.

The two families began to piece together timelines, as Devin’s wife recalls: “There was one day we were at the clinic at the same time. I was doing transfers, which is when they put the embryos back in, and she was doing the retrieval, which is when they take your eggs and retrieve them. It was the same day…we think around the same time, 14 years ago.”

The realization was overwhelming, but families tried to make the best of the situation by staying in touch and even meeting in person.

However, families believe that more regulations should be put in place to prevent such mistakes from happening.

“We shouldn’t look back and try to fix problems, there should be measures in place to prevent these problems and it shouldn’t be up to the patient to take matters into their own hands,” Devin said.

The families decided to sue the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine over the mistake, and in 2022 they reached an out-of-court settlement.

When the case was revealed, the clinic released a statement saying: “The safety and care of our patients is our primary goal. Our providers and staff strive to provide excellent care and we are constantly working to make improvements.”