Austrian mother raises the wrong child for 25 years after hospital mix-up

A hospital in Austria has been ordered to pay €30,000 (£26,000) after it mixed up two babies 27 years ago.

Doris Grünwald was born in 1990 at the University Hospital in Graz, but found out in 2015 that she wasn't related to the woman she called mother.

Health officials broke the news to Grünwald after she underwent a routine blood test, which revealed that the different blood types between her and her thought-to-be parents. A subsequent DNA test confirmed this to the family.

Evelin Grünwald, who raised Doris said: "Of course it was a huge shock for me and my daughter, but we knew from the start that nothing could separate us, that we would stay mother and daughter. This child is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Doris said: "For me it was definitely worse than for my mother. My whole body started shaking. It was like the ground under my feet disappeared."

The hospital hasn't revealed how the swap occurred but a spokesperson said: "We are making every effort, together with the affected family, to solve this case. If it can be proven that it was our fault, then I want to apologise to all concerned on behalf of the clinic."

They added that the probability of being mixed up at birth was "generally very low".

When the hospital found out about the news, they launched a scheme offering free DNA tests to the roughly 200 women who were born between 15 October and 20 November 1990.

However only around 30 have taken up the tests, and no matches have been found.

In the 1990s, newborns were given one identification band, whereas today they are given two.

Women who gave birth to a baby girl, or who were themselves born between 15 October and 20 November 1990 in Graz University Hospital can call the team on 0316 385-34567 and make an appointment for a DNA test between 7am and 3pm, Monday to Friday.