Two West Midlands families are demanding compensation after DNA testing revealed two girls were switched at birth in an NHS hospital 55 years ago. Tony, who out of curiosity picked up a home DNA testing kit, discovered that his supposed sister, Jessica, was not biologically related to him. Instead, the test revealed that a stranger, Claire, was his full sister. Further investigation confirmed that Claire and Jessica were born in the same hospital at approximately the same time.

Mrs. Joan, Mr. Tony’s mother, expressed her joy at having a daughter when Jessica was born in 1967. “It was a wonderful feeling to finally have a girl,” she recalled. bbc (Jessica and Claire are not their real names; both have been changed to protect the women’s identities.)

Using the DNA company’s courier service, Tony contacted Claire, who had also taken the same DNA test two years earlier. Claire had experienced her own confusion when she received the results, having no connection to her supposed ancestry and discovering a genetic link to a first cousin she didn’t recognize. Mrs. Claire, who had always felt like an “imposter” in her family, remembers thinking: “Yes, I am adopted.”

Mrs. Claire was determined in her desire to meet Mr. Tony and their shared mother, Joan. “I just wanted to see them, meet them, talk to them and hug them,” he said.

When Tony finally revealed the truth to Joan, she was desperate for answers. He recalled the night of Jessica’s birth in vivid detail: “They took me in on a Sunday… It snowed that day.” After holding their newborn daughter for a few minutes, they took her to daycare and, the next morning, mistakenly handed her over to Ms. Jessica instead of Ms. Claire.

Since then, the families met and Mrs. Claire has integrated into her biological family. “It just felt good,” said Joan, Claire’s biological mother. “I thought he looked just like I did in my youth.”

The NHS trust admitted responsibility for the baby swap, describing it as an “appalling mistake”. Compensation negotiations are ongoing.

Joan noted that her love for Jessica, the woman she raised, remains unchanged. “She is still my daughter and always will be.”