Sarah Lou finds Vietnamese birth family after 22 years
On July 3, Dantri/Dtinews published a story about Sarah Lou, a French woman adopted from Vietnam as a baby, who was searching for her biological parents. Her adoptive family fully supported her journey.
Following verification efforts by Dantri reporters, a family in Hy Cuong Commune, Phu Tho Province, was identified as a potential match. Sarah sent hair and nail samples to Vietnam for DNA testing.
On August 6, Hoang Thi Cai visited the Gentis Laboratory in Hanoi to get the DNA test results which confirm that she is Sarah’s biological mother.
Speaking to Dantri/Dtinews from France, Sarah shared her overwhelming emotions: "When I got the result, I was stunned. It felt like a dream. These are the happiest moments of my life. I’m so thankful to Dantri for helping reconnect me with my roots."
Sarah, who recently graduated from university and is preparing for a master's programme in communications, expressed her excitement about returning to Vietnam and meeting her family in person.
Meanwhile, Cai couldn’t hide her joy and tears. “At our age, we never imagined we’d be reunited with our daughter. After so many restless nights, I can finally find peace,” she said.
Cai revealed that after reading Sarah’s story on Dantri, her family experienced emotional turmoil and community gossip. “I just cried silently and hoped my daughter would forgive me,” she said.
Before receiving the DNA results, Sarah and Cai’s family had been chatting via Facebook with the help of translation tools to bridge the language gap and reconnect after years apart.
According to Cai, Sarah Lou was born as Bui Thi Hoa on January 22, 2003. Due to severe poverty, Cai and her husband sent their seventh child to a local orphanage, hoping she would receive better care.
Not long after, the baby was adopted and taken to France. “We didn’t want to give her up, but we were too poor to raise her. We never imagined it would take over 20 years to see her again,” Cai recalled.
Hoang Thi Cai and her son Bui Phu Dung visit the Gentis Laboratory in Hanoi on August 6 to get the DNA test results which confirm that she is Sarah’s biological mother.
Sarah’s brother, Bui Phu Dung, said the family rarely spoke of the adoption out of fear of upsetting their parents. “At first, we were surprised and overwhelmed. But once we collected ourselves, our parents were eager to confirm the connection through a DNA test,” he said. “Blood ties can’t be denied.”
