Austrian Women Reunite 35 Years After Birth Switch

Sun Dec 07 2025 09:12:15 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

After decades of separation due to a hospital mix-up, two Austrian women who were switched at birth finally meet, revealing deep emotional ties and the complexity of family bonds.

Doris Grünwald and Jessica Baumgartner, switched at birth in a Graz hospital 35 years ago, meet and share an emotional reunion. Both women uncovered the truth about their identities through blood type discrepancies, leading to a connection that feels like sisterhood. As families navigate the fallout of this revelation, they reflect on their emotional journeys and the hospital's apology for the decades-long error.

Two Austrian women, who were switched at birth at a hospital in the southern city of Graz, have finally met each other 35 years later.

Doris Grünwald and Jessica Baumgartner were born at the LKH-Uniklinikum in Graz in October 1990, according to Austrian reports. Both were premature. Shortly after they were born, the two babies were accidentally switched and were given to the parents of the other family.

Then in 2012 Ms Grünwald discovered that she was not the biological daughter of her parents, Evelin and Josef, when she donated blood and realized her blood type did not match with that of her mother.

Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported on the case in 2016, but back then the other family could not be found. Ms Baumgartner was brought up not far away by Herbert and Monika Derler. She discovered her blood type didn't match that of her parents when she became pregnant, leading a doctor to inform her about the case of the switched babies.

Jessica reached out to Doris via Facebook, and they then met up. She described it as like meeting a sister. We got along right away, Doris said. It was an indescribably good feeling. Recently, the families finally met as well, filmed by an ORF TV crew.

Mrs Derler told the program her first reaction upon hearing the news was one of emotional turmoil. She said, But my first thought was Jessica will always be our child. And when I saw Doris, I thought she is such a sweetheart. Meanwhile, Evelin Grünwald expressed, For me, my family has just got bigger and I finally have certainty. Her husband remarked it was a relief.

The operations manager at the LKH-Uniklinikum in Graz, Gebhard Falzberger, expressed deep regret over the mistake and issued an apology to both families. In 2016, the Grünwalds consulted a lawyer who advised them to adopt Doris to ensure her inheritance rights, and they received compensation from the hospital. The Derlers are now pursuing adoption and compensation as well.

Jessica acknowledged the mix of emotions surrounding the reunion: It's emotionally huge, with beautiful sides to it but also a lot of pain.