Two Americans were switched at birth — they accidentally found out about it after 36 years

Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison left a hospital in the USA with other people's parents in 1988. It took 36 years to discover this mistake, Sky News reports.

The families of two men, who were switched at birth in a North Dakota maternity hospital 38 years ago, accused an American hospital of depriving them of the life they were supposed to live.

Kyle Bylin found his biological family after taking a DNA test, which he accidentally pulled during a Christmas gift exchange.

The results led him to his biological aunt on a genealogical platform. Then her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, also took a DNA test.

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According to a lawsuit filed in state court last week, Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison were the only infants born on January 26, 1988, at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota. However, they left the hospital with other people's parents.

The hospital does not deny that the children were switched, but states that it has found no evidence that its staff was responsible for this life-changing mistake.

"We understand the profound impact this discovery has had on them and their families," Unity Medical said in a statement. "Unfortunately, due to almost four decades having passed, medical records and staff rosters that could provide further clarity no longer exist, and none of the delivery team from that time are still employed at the hospital."

Two years have already passed since the DNA test revealed the switch.

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"Kyle is still my son — that will never change," said Evelyn Newton. "But I feel robbed: the life I was supposed to spend with my biological son was taken from me. You can't go back and replace 35 years. First steps, driving a car, a wedding — how can that be compensated for?"

Morrison's new knowledge about his birth did not change his feelings towards the family who raised him.

"I was loved," he said. "I played sports, did well in school. A DNA test won't take away 38 years of memories."

However, Morrison, who lives in Colorado and works as a welding inspector for a wind energy company, believes that if not for the switch, he would have worked with his biological father and brother on their grain farm.

Evelyn Newton never had reason to think that Bylin was not her biological son. In contrast, Bylin chose an academic career far from North Dakota and felt "different" within the family that raised him.

"Throughout life, there were certainly times when I felt like the black sheep of the family or like I was looking for a place where I belonged," he said. "And only years later did it turn out that there really was a difference... that there was a reason why I didn't 100% and didn't always fit in."

The men have now met their biological parents, but have not yet met each other in person, although they have already spoken on the phone.

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