Switched at birth, 2 women meet for the first time after 35 years. They uncover a stunning truth

In an astonishing twist of fate, two Austrian women who were switched at birth in 1990 discovered their true identities 35 years later, all thanks to Facebook.

Doris Grünwald and Jessica Baumgartner were born prematurely in October 1990 at the LKH-Uniklinikum Graz maternity clinic, where a tragic mix-up sent each baby home with the wrong family. For decades, no one suspected a thing, until a blood test shattered Grünwald’s world.

In 2012, while donating blood, Doris Grünwald learned that her blood type didn’t match that of her parents, Evelin and Josef Grünwald. Confused and heartbroken, she began searching for answers, and by 2016, her case had made headlines across Austria. Despite extensive media coverage by Austrian public broadcaster ORF, no trace of the other family was found.

However, years later, Jessica Baumgartner, living not too far away, discovered during her own pregnancy that her blood type didn’t match her parents’ either. The revelation was devastating, but her doctor, aware of Grünwald’s case, connected the dots. He told her about the unsolved “switched babies” story and soon after, she reached out to Grünwald on Facebook.

The two decided to meet up, and Baumgartner revealed that “it was like meeting a sister.” Grünwald, too, was ecstatic to meet her, revealing how they “got along right away,” and calling it “an indescribably good feeling.” Soon after, the two families met as well, which was filmed by an ORF TV crew. (via BBC)

Baumgartner’s mother, Monika Derler, revealed that she was in an “emotional turmoil” upon hearing the news first. However, she said, her first thought was “Jessica will always be our child.” Baumgartner, on the other hand, callled it “emotionally huge with beautiful sides to it but also a lot of pain.”

Meanwhile, Evelin Grünwald said: “For me, my family has just got bigger and I finally have certainty,” while her husband added that “it was a relief.” The operations manager Gebhard Falzberger, at the LKH-Uniklinikum in Graz, also apologised to the families, saying, “We deeply regret that this mistake was made at the time.”

While Grünwald was formally adopted by the family Evelin and Josef in 2016, Baumgartner’s parents are now proceeding with the adoption and persuing compensation from the clinic as well.