Two men have taken legal action against a North Dakota hospital after DNA tests revealed they were mistakenly switched at birth nearly four decades ago, leaving both families to deal with decades of lost experiences and unanswered questions.
Kyle Bylin discovered the shocking truth after taking an at-home DNA test during a Christmas family gathering.
The result connected him with a biological aunt through a genealogy platform, leading to further testing that confirmed he and Jeremy Morrison had been exchanged at birth.
The two men were the only babies born on January 26, 1988, at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota, according to a lawsuit filed in a state court.
The suit alleged that they were discharged to the wrong families after birth.
Bylin, who was raised as Kyle Bylin but was later identified as Jeremy Morrison’s biological child, said the discovery was overwhelming.
The revelation began after Morrison noticed a strong resemblance between Bylin and his own brother in a family photograph, raising questions that eventually led to DNA confirmation.
Bylin said he still has the hospital identification bracelet that carried his incorrect name, which he believes supports the claim that the switch occurred at the facility.
The discovery, made two years ago, forced both families to revisit their past and consider the moments they missed.
Evelyn Newton, who raised Bylin, said she continues to see him as her son but feels the years she could have spent with her biological child were taken away.
She said important milestones such as childhood memories, first achievements and family moments cannot be recovered after nearly four decades.
Unity Medical Center acknowledged the emotional impact of the situation but said there was no evidence that its staff caused the mix-up.
The hospital explained that records from that period that could have provided more details are no longer available and that none of the medical staff involved in the deliveries remain employed there.
Despite the revelation, Morrison said his relationship with the family that raised him remains unchanged, describing his childhood as filled with love, education and positive experiences.
Now living in Colorado and working as a welding inspector in the wind energy industry, Morrison said he sometimes wonders whether his life would have been different had the switch not happened, including possibly remaining on his biological family’s North Dakota farm.
Newton said she never suspected that Bylin was not her biological son, despite noticing differences in appearance, including hair colour, which she attributed to family traits.
For Bylin, the discovery provided answers to feelings of being different while growing up.
He said the experience changed his understanding of his identity and explained why he had always felt disconnected from some aspects of the family that raised him.
Both men have since met their biological parents and described the encounters as welcoming but emotionally complicated. Although they have not yet met face-to-face, they have maintained contact through phone conversations.
Bylin said both families are trying to navigate the unexpected situation with understanding, recognising that relationships built over decades and newly discovered biological connections must now exist together.
