Bushbuckridge family questions DNA results of newborn
A family alleges that the DNA results had been tampered with as they had already been opened, when they should have arrived still sealed.
A 34-year-old mother who was told she had given birth to a boy, but discovered it was a girl instead, is questioning the DNA results in an effort to establish if the newborn is in fact hers.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH) had conducted a DNA test, despite the family demanding it be done by a private lab.
A family member, Surprise Nkuna, alleges that the results were tampered with due to the fact that they should only be opened in the family’s presence. However, when they arrived, the results had allegedly already been opened. “We have already gone to a private lab for the DNA because we want to be sure the baby belongs to our family. We believe that the results were not accurate, because the hospital is trying to cover up their wrongdoing. We can only welcome the baby after the results have come back and confirmed it baby belongs to our family,” he said.
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Nkuna said if they receive the second set of DNA result, and if it differs from the one done by the DoH, they will file a lawsuit for fraud and negligence. Depending on the results, they said they might add additional lawsuits. The family is also concerned about the baby’s names, because she currently has male names and two birth certificates. “Our agreement with the DoH was that after their DNA results, they would assist us in changing her name, which means she will now have three birth certificates. Let’s hope it will not haunt her along the way,” he said.
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He said they do not accept the apology of the Matikwane Hospital CEO, Matilda Makukule, “because it comes with nothing.”
On August 23, another 34-year-old mother, who asked not to be named, also claimed she was not assisted when delivering her baby in Matikwane Hospital. “I delivered the child alone. The nurses only came to cut the umbilical cord and take her to the maternity ward. When I was in the hospital, the nurses told me the baby was a boy. I was also convinced that it was a boy and even the tag on the infant’s wrist stated that it was a boy. However, when I got home last week, my mother undressed the child and got the shock of her life when she discovered the baby was a girl. When the matter was reported, the card was changed. They added ‘fe-‘ to ‘male’ and changed the birth certificate to female.”
