DNA Test Exposes 38-Year Secret: Two Babies Were Switched

A 38-year secret that dramatically changed the lives of two men in North Dakota was uncovered through a DNA test. They were switched at birth in 1988 and sent home with different families. Their families have now sued the hospital for allowing the babies to be switched.

The incident occurred on January 26, 1988, at Unity Medical Center in Grafton. According to the lawsuit, only two babies were born at the hospital that day. Yet, for some reason, they went home with the wrong parents.

A DNA test received as a simple gift revealed the truth

Kyle Bylin had never planned to find his biological family. He randomly chose an at-home DNA test for a Christmas gift exchange.

The test results led him through a genealogy platform to his biological aunt. Her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, was then also tested. The results clearly and conclusively showed that the two men belonged to the same family.

"My whole world was turned upside down at that moment. We could never have imagined that there had been a real birth switch," Bylin said.

Morrison, meanwhile, felt that something was wrong as soon as he saw a photo of Bylin's brother. His appearance was strikingly similar to his own.

In addition, Bylin still had the hospital bracelet that had incorrectly identified him as Kyle Bylin.

The hospital did not preserve the old records

The DNA results completely changed the families' understanding of the lives they had known for the previous two years. Since then, they have faced many difficult questions, emotional reunions and thoughts about what might have happened if things had been different.

Evelyn Newton, who raised Kyle as her own child, said she still considers him her son. However, she said she feels deprived of the life she should have had with her biological son.

"You can't go back and make up for 35 years. First steps, learning to drive, getting married—how can any of that be replaced?" she said.

The hospital is not denying that the babies were switched. However, the administration said no evidence had been found confirming that it or its employees were directly responsible for the life-changing error.

According to the hospital's statement, nearly 40 years have passed, and medical and personnel records that might clarify the incident were not preserved. None of the members of the medical team who admitted the babies at the time still works at the hospital.

"A DNA test cannot erase 38 years of memories"

Morrison, meanwhile, has not changed how he feels about the family that raised him. He still considers Elizabeth O'Tul and Terry Morrison his parents.

He said his childhood may not have been perfect, but he was loved, played sports and did well in school.

"I was loved. I played sports. I did well in school. A DNA test cannot take 38 years of memories away from me," Morrison said.

He now lives in Colorado City and works as a welding inspector for a wind energy company. If the babies had not been switched at birth, he might have worked with his biological brother and father on a grain farm in North Dakota.

Meetings with the biological families were emotional

Bylin and Morrison have met their biological parents. They said the meetings were warm, although the situation was naturally somewhat awkward.

The two men have not yet met in person, but they keep in touch by phone. Both families are now trying to adjust to one another through these new relationships.

Bylin said that everyone involved has had to bring people they had never known before into their lives, and that this is not an easy process socially.

Similar cases have been uncovered before

Babies being switched at birth is rare. However, the growing popularity of at-home DNA tests is increasing the chances that such cases will be discovered years later.

In 2024, two women in Norway discovered that they had been switched at birth and sued the government over violations of their human rights. In 2020, two men born in 1942 who believed they had been switched sued a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.

A DNA analysis conducted in Pennsylvania in 2018 showed that two girls had been switched approximately 75 years earlier. In 2016, the Canadian government also launched an investigation after evidence emerged that two babies had been switched in an Indigenous community in northern Manitoba in 1975.

Modern technology is preventing such mistakes

According to pediatric oncologist Jonathan Marron, who teaches at the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, such mix-ups should hardly occur today.

Electronic medical records systems may have various shortcomings, but they are an important safeguard for accurately identifying babies and preventing similar mistakes.

Attorney Tim O'Keefe said he had spent a year trying to reach a financial settlement with the hospital, but a lawsuit was filed after those efforts failed. The claim seeks compensation for emotional harm caused by negligence and medical error.

Although Morrison now knows the truth, he understands that the 38 years he lost cannot be brought back.

"I know the truth now, but we are still working on building relationships. This is still an ongoing process," he said.