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Twin, separated at birth, sues for mix-up

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-02 19:36

MADRID - A Spanish twin, separated from her family for 28 years, is suing the Canary Islands for a mix-up at the maternity hospital which led to her being taken home by the wrong mother, media reported last Wednesday.

The woman discovered she had an identical twin when she was mistaken for someone else in a shop in 2001.

The two sisters , who were not named, found they were born in the same hospital in 1973 around the same time and a DNA test subsequently showed they were identical twins.

"In 1973 there were two assistants and one supervisor for 60 babies," Densi Calero, who worked in the maternity unit of the clinic at the time, told local radio. "It's not impossible to imagine something like this could happen."

The woman is suing the Canary Island health services for 3 million euros ($4.7 million) for emotional trauma, El Pais newspaper reported. "I wish I'd never found out about it," her lawyer quoted her as saying.

Her sister was brought up alongside another girl, believing they were twins.