Two women born minutes apart in the same Buenos Aires hospital in 1986 have discovered they were switched at birth, after a DNA test exposed the error four decades later. Paula and Gabriela were both delivered on March 22, 1986, at the Italian Hospital in Buenos Aires, just 13 minutes apart.
Paula, who grew up in Miami and became a lawyer, took a routine ancestry DNA test in 2024 that showed no biological link to her parents. After repeating the test with the same result, she confronted her family and sought legal help in Argentina. Lawyer Ignacio Leguizamón Peña led the investigation, requesting hospital records for that date.
Initially, hospital officials reported no births on March 22, but records for March 21 showed eight births, including two newborns delivered 13 minutes apart, weighing only 100 grams apart, and attended by the same midwife. The lawyer traced the eighth baby to Gabriela, who lived in Morón on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Gabriela’s mother—Paula’s biological mother—agreed to DNA testing after seeing a photo of Paula. Results confirmed a match between Paula and Gabriela’s respective biological families, proving the swap. The lawyer arranged a meeting at a shopping centre, where both women met their biological parents for the first time.
Gabriela, who learned the truth later, “cried inconsolably,” the lawyer said. Both women now have families of their own, and the discovery has affected their children and wider relatives. The families have filed a legal complaint seeking to determine how the switch occurred, including allegations of identity suppression.
The case has been escalated to federal courts under prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, investigating potential criminal responsibility. A raid at the Italian Hospital seized archival material, including staff lists from 1986. Prominent lawyer Fernando Burlando has joined the legal team, describing the case as “very complex” with significant harm.
