Daughter Finds Out She Was Accidentally Swapped at Birth

Local Editor

Imagine growing up believing one thing and then finding out that everything you've ever known wasn't true.

That's exactly what happened to 27-year-old Doris Gruenwald, from Austria, who discovered she was being raised by a family that wasn't biologically hers.

All it took was a decision to donate blood and the shocking discovery was made because as it turned out her blood type didn't match what was on her birth certificate.

"That was the moment my feet were pulled out from under me. Everything that I had known up to that point was now being questioned," Doris said.

"The world that had existed for me just completely fell apart."

Doris and her mum Evelin never questioned their connection growing up, highlighting similarities in their appearance and their strong bond.

But as many questions remain unanswered, Doris set out to find her real family - who likely have no idea their child isn't biologically theirs.

"The questions I'm asking myself are what do my biological parents look like, how did their life develop, how are they going now," Doris said.

It's been determined in court that the University Hospital in Graz in Austria most likely mixed up to babies in the 20 hours between the birth and the mother being given the child in 1990.

The hospital had been found guilty of "gross negligence" and had been ordered to pay $133,000 in damages to Doris, mum Evelin and her husband.

They also had to cover the costs the couple went through to adopt Doris after discovering she wasn't their child.

Now the search is on to find her real family, with the hospital offering free DNA tests to 200 mothers who were present at the same time in 1990. So far only 30 people have taken the test and no matches have been found.

"Me - we - won't give up hope that we will eventually find our biological counterparts," Doris wrote on Facebook.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team