Raised Side by Side: Two Women in China Discover They Were Swapped at Birth After 37 Years

Two women in China, Huang Xiaolin and Li Hui, were born in October 1989 at Qingyuan People's Hospital, 55 minutes apart, and were swapped at birth. They only discovered this after 37 years, following a DNA test Huang took in 2022. The two are demanding joint compensation of 2.6 million yuan (about $385,000) from the hospital, and the hearing is scheduled for August 13.

Two women in China, Huang Xiaolin and Li Hui, discovered after 37 years that they were swapped at birth. They were born in October 1989 at Qingyuan People's Hospital in Guangdong Province, 55 minutes apart. The nurses briefly showed them to their mothers, then moved them to the nursery wearing identical clothes. In those days, no identification bracelets were used, only name cards placed in the swaddling. The circumstances of the swap remain unclear. Huang grew up in a well-off home, but her adoptive father noticed her blood type was different and suspected his wife. Her parents divorced when she was five. In 2022, she took a DNA test that revealed her parents were not biologically related to her. With police help, she located her biological family in April last year, and then it became clear that Li Hui was the other woman. Li grew up in a family that ran a grocery store; her father lost their savings in an investment scam, and she left high school to work. She developed a blood disease and underwent surgery to remove her thyroid. The two met at a café and described it as "stressful, exciting, and a bit awkward." They chose to maintain contact with the families who raised them. When they requested birth records, they were told the files could not be located, and some staff had retired or died. They are demanding joint compensation of 2.6 million yuan (about $385,000), and the hearing is expected on August 13.