Man sues Chinese hospital for giving him to wrong set of parents
Victim takes legal action after DNA tests show Shanghai maternity unit made blunder shortly after he was born
A man in Shanghai is suing a hospital after he found out staff gave him to the wrong parents when he was born 28 years ago.
The man, surnamed Wang, was shown not to be the biological son of his mother after undergoing a DNA test in 2016. A previous test in 2011 also showed he has no blood relationship with his father, according to ThePaper.cn.
The hospital, Shanghai No 1 Maternity and Children’s Health Hospital, said in a statement last week that it would help to find Wang’s biological parents.
Wang and his mother – who was identified by the pseudonym Zhang Fang – asked for help from the hospital several times in the past.
It is thought that mix-up may have occurred when Zhang’s baby was taken away for tests. Hospital staff may have returned a different newborn.
Wang said his relatives and friends had always joked that he does not look like his father, who was given the false name Wang Jun in the report. The comments had irked his father for years and led to his parents divorcing in 2004.
Wang said he hoped to find his biological parents but he would still live with Zhang. “It’s been 28 years, I would like everything to be just like it was before even if I can find my biological parents.”
The mother and the son filed a law suit on July 10 and asked for compensation of 1.3 million yuan (US$193,000).
Zhang said she could not accept the result of the DNA tests as she could not believe the hospital had made such a mistake as it “has been one of the best in Shanghai”.
