Girls switched at birth only realize the mistake more than 50 years later

Switching at birth is a rare occurrence, but two women in the UK are now coming to terms with it after making a startling discovery.

The women – both from the Midlands region of England – discovered they had gone to different parents after being born in the same hospital in 1967, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). This is the first documented case of birth switching by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). BBC.

It all started when a man named Tony picked up a home DNA testing kit for Christmas 2021. The results confirmed that he had a sister, but he named someone other than the brother or sister he grew up with. Tony told the publication that he had approached the woman, identified by the BBC under the pseudonym Claire, for clarification about the DNA test.

Claire told the publication that she took a test two years ago and it showed no connection to her parents’ birthplace and no genetic link to a family member she didn’t know.

After exchanging messages, Claire and Tony learned that Tony’s sister, alias Jessica, and Claire were born in the same hospital around the same time 55 years ago. They began to believe that they had been switched at birth.

The National Health Service did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the incident.

However, the health system told the BBC in response to a freedom of information request that there were no documented cases in its records of babies being sent home with the wrong parents.

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Claire told the publication that she decided to meet the family she believed she may have been born into originally, saying: “I just wanted to see them, meet them, talk to them and hug them.”

Claire said that when she finally got to Tony and his mother Joan’s house, located in a village she coincidentally often passed through to get to work, the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.

“I looked at (Joan) and said, ‘Oh my God, I have your eyes!’ We have the same eyes. My God, I look like someone! – Claire reminded the BBC.

“It just felt right,” Joan added. “I thought, ‘She looked just like me when I was younger.’ »

Claire also said she realized she was one day older than she actually was, having been born hours earlier than she originally thought. “My birth certificate is wrong, my passport, my driver’s license, everything is wrong,” she told the publication.

Following the discovery, Tony contacted the NHS trust that runs the hospital where the two women were born. The BBC’s NHS resolution said the incident was a “horrific mistake” and accepted legal responsibility. He also noted that he is still working on the amount of compensation due, as this is a “unique and complex case.”