I just read a Baltimore Sun Article titled, “Three decades after adoption, DNA test reveals painful truth”. The article discusses a family who put a child up for adoption, then wanted to reunite more than 3 decades later. The adoption was facilitated through Catholic Charities, and they also prepared the reunion, which took place at a Phillies game.
During a four year period after meeting, the father and son became closer by exchanging family pictures and stories. Over that time they could not get past the fact that they had no physical resemblance. Son was 6’ 2” and father 5’ 8”. They had few if any physical similarities. They decided to take a paternity test, which showed a 0% chance of paternity.
Father goes back to Catholic Charities to find how the mix-up occurs. Unfortunately, they cannot determine how it happened. One comment under the article shows an interesting view that may be accurate. Here’s what the reader wrote:
Here is what happened: someone at the hospital took the wrong infant and placed it with Catholic Charities. Some family went home with the baby which was to be given up for adoption and THEIR son was given up for adoption. Somewhere, there is a family whose baby was born on Nov. 25, 1975, at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden who raised a son who IS NOT THEIRS. That is the child that was to be given up for adoption. Phil Bloete is THEIR SON. The hospital screwed up. Every male child born on 11/25/1975 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital needs to be tracked down and given a DNA test. Then, the hospital needs to take accountability.
If this was indeed the case, it could have been prevented with paternity testing at the hospital. There are some obvious concerns with this;
- It will be fairly expensive for each father and child to get a paternity test while in the hospital, so who will pay for them?
- What if fathers do not want to know?
In cases of adoption, it seems like it should be mandatory that mother and father are tested to ensure the baby they give up is in fact their baby. It’s impossible to put together statistics on how many children are swapped in the hospital, since nobody has implemented any testing studies.
Something to think about; some family out there may be raising a child that is not biologically theirs, because of a mistake in the hospital. This family may be 1 out of a million, or they may be 1 in a thousand. Are families better off being proactive in getting tested to prevent switches, or should they trust that hospitals only mix up 1 in a million?
