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'We always joked dad looked nothing like his parents - then we found out why'
BBC ^ | June 7 | BBC

Posted on 06/07/2025 5:40:23 PM PDT by RandFan

Matthew's dad had brown eyes and black hair. His grandparents had piercing blue eyes.

There was a running joke in his family that "dad looked nothing like his parents", the teacher from southern England says.

It turned out there was a very good reason for this.

Matthew's father had been swapped at birth in hospital nearly 80 years ago. He died late last year before learning the truth of his family history.

Matthew - not his real name - contacted the BBC after we reported on the case of Susan, who received compensation from an NHS trust after a home DNA test revealed she had been accidentally switched for another baby in the 1950s.

BBC News is now aware of five cases of babies swapped by mistake in maternity wards from the late 1940s to the 1960s.

Lawyers say they expect more people to come forward driven by the increase in cheap genetic testing.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: babies; england; europe; genealogy; helixmakemineadouble; hospital; nhs; unitedkingdom
Switched babies in the 50s and 60s? Fascinating...
1 posted on 06/07/2025 5:40:23 PM PDT by RandFan
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To: RandFan

Trusting that the father is the father and not the milkman or the traveling salesman kind of shoots a hole in trusting ancestry/dot/com.
😳🤦🏻‍♂️👀


2 posted on 06/07/2025 5:51:58 PM PDT by 9422WMR
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To: 9422WMR

Makes no sense.


3 posted on 06/07/2025 5:54:56 PM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: RandFan
Well, it was a subject of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in the early '60s, until they met the other parents.


4 posted on 06/07/2025 6:31:45 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: Dr. Sivana

I saw one episode of that show and that was it. I even remember the name of the kid he thought was swapped. P. Peters. Actually that’s the only thing I remember.


5 posted on 06/07/2025 6:50:31 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Wake up, smell the cat food in your bank account. )
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To: Dr. Sivana

That was SUCH a good episode! Well before it’s time. :)


6 posted on 06/07/2025 7:03:54 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Dr. Sivana

That one was real funny.


7 posted on 06/07/2025 7:22:07 PM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: HYPOCRACY

And that was actor Greg Morris, later on “Mission: Impossible” and after that the Las Vegas Metro Lt. on “Vega$.”

I remember seeing him on old “Twilight Zone” episodes, too.


8 posted on 06/07/2025 7:54:50 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Russia? China? Democrats and RINOs are the biggest threat to the survival of America.)
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To: 9422WMR
Trusting that the father is the father and not the milkman or the traveling salesman kind of shoots a hole in trusting ancestry/dot/com.

Ancestry is just fine. What Ancestry reveals has been a source of pain for those who never suspected the facts of their parentage. Ancestry exposed a fertility doctor in Idaho Falls.

One of my close friends learned he was adopted around age 10. Paperwork in his mom's dresser drawer. Ancestry found his sister...adopted by another family. They finally met in person a few months before he died from lung cancer.

Ancestry data has both good and upsetting revelations.

9 posted on 06/07/2025 8:20:09 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: RandFan

10 posted on 06/08/2025 4:50:58 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: RandFan

When babies were born at home, this wasn’t a problem.


11 posted on 06/08/2025 4:52:24 AM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: RandFan; All
Hmmmm...it's the ‘National Health’ Brits were kicking and screaming for, after WWII.

Well, they got it!! I read that if you are hospitalized there on a weekend, you better have family bring food, clean linen, bandages, etc., because NHS staff ain't gonna be on the job till Monday!! You won't even get an aspirin-or a glass of water to take it!

12 posted on 06/08/2025 4:54:49 AM PDT by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
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To: Bonemaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqu09DyXoUk


13 posted on 06/08/2025 7:34:17 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (ghostwalkgettysburg.com)
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To: RandFan

A symptom of early NHS bureaucratic negligence. When you run your healthcare system like an assembly line, parts interchangeability leads to accountability not being as important as productivity.


14 posted on 06/08/2025 7:47:52 AM PDT by Pennsyltucky Boy (bitterly clinging to our constitutional rights in PA)
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