A family in Hanoi is looking for their biological daughter who had been mistakenly swapped with another child 42 years ago.
Nguyen Thi Mai Hanh, 64, said she gave birth to a baby girl on October 10, 1974 at Ba Dinh Maternity Care on Phan Huy Ich Street. Hanh was given number 33 when she was admitted, but after birth, she noticed that her child had number 32. The nurses and doctors insisted that the child was hers and the number was damaged during a bath. Hanh did not believe their explanation and tried to search for her baby at hospital. At that time, Ba Dinh Maternity Care only had 10 babies but no one had number 33.
"Maybe that family already received the child and went home. Doctors could have given both babies number 32," Hanh said.
Even though Hanh suspected that the child was not hers, she still loved and cared for her deeply. Hanh did not tell her daughter, Ta Thi Thu Trang, about her suspicion. Hanh's husband didn't let her take DNA test and told her to keep the truth secret before he died.
Ta Thi Thu Trang (second from the left) in a family photo when she was young.
However, Hanh was constantly troubled by the thoughts about her biological daughter so she got DNA test and the result was negative. In the past decades, Hanh has kept going to Ba Dinh Maternity Care, even after it was moved to Le Truc Street, to find information, but her search bear no results. She recently moved to live in England.
Last October, Hanh returned to Vietnam and got the DNA test again and the result was still negative like 17 years ago. She decided to tell Trang the truth with hope that both of them could find their biological relatives.
"I feel like it's my fault that my family lost a daughter and Trang's family lost her," Hanh said.
"My heart was broken when knowing the truth. I'm angry at her for not telling me sooner and love her because her love for me during all that time has been so extraordinary," Trang said.
Trang went on to say she was more spoiled by her parents than other siblings so the truth was unreal to her. She also had her own suspicion, though, because she doesn't resemble any of the family members. When she was teased by other children that she was not their real daughter, Hanh would assure her.
"I'm afraid of losing my siblings and parent whom I respect and love," Trang said. "Whenever I close my eyes, I would wonder what my real parents look like, who they are and this urge to find my origins."
Ta Thi Thu Van, Hanh's eldest daughter, said they had only known about the story last year but Trang was still their sister.
Ta Thi Thu Van (left) and Ta Thi Thu Trang
Nguyen Viet Cuong from Ba Dinh Medical Centre said after receiving a letter from Hanh and request to help find their real family members, they searched their storage and contacted old employees. Unfortunately, due to long period of time and the relocation of Ba Dinh Maternity Care, they were unable to find any related information.
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