Two women found to have been switched at birth over 50 years later

After over five decades, two women discovered that they had been switched when they were born at the same hospital at around the same time in 1967.

BBC reported on Nov. 2 that it started when Tony from the UK took a DNA test in February 2022 that revealed he had someone else listed as his full sibling. Instead of Jessica, whom he grew up with, he saw that it's a woman identified by the media outlet under the pseudonym Claire.

Tony contacted the DNA testing company and asked for their help in getting in touch with Claire. "Hi. My name's Tony. I've done this DNA test. You've come up as a full sibling. I'm thinking it's a mistake. Can you shed any light on it?" he recalled telling her.

According to BBC, Claire said the results of the DNA test she took in 2019 showed "there was no connection to where her parents were born, and she had a genetic link to a first cousin she didn’t know and couldn’t explain." But three years later, she was notified that she has a full sibling.

After a series of conversations with Tony, Claire learned that she and Jessica were born at the same hospital at around the same time 55 years ago. Claire recalled telling Tony she wanted to meet his family as she believed they may have been swapped at birth. "I just wanted to see them, meet them, talk to them, and embrace them," she said.

Upon meeting Tony's mother Joan, she immediately noticed that they "have the same eyes."

"I looked at [Joan] and I said, 'Oh my God, I've got your eyes! We have the same eyes. Oh my God, I look like someone!'" she shared.

Joan, for her part, said "it just felt right."

"I thought, 'She looked just like I did in my younger days,'" she told the media outlet.

Tony then reached out to the UK's National Health Service, which confirmed the "appalling error" that marked the first documented incident of babies getting swapped at birth. 

Calling it a "unique and complex case," the NHS accepted legal liability and said that it's still "working to agree on the amount of compensation that was due."

While Jessica no longer calls Joan her "mum," per BBC, Joan said she still considers Jessica her daughter.

"It doesn't make any difference to me that Jessica isn't my biological daughter. She's still my daughter and she always will be," shared Joan.