Baby mix-ups round the globe

Remember the lapse at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) where they gave two sets of parents the wrong babies late last week?

Of course you do. It’s not every day (or every year, decade even) our hospitals are capable of making such a grave mistake – that is, if you discount the landmark in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) mix-up case two years ago when a couple in Singapore was left “utterly devastated” after realising Thomson Fertility Centre had used the wrong sperm during the procedure.

Alas, they only made the discovery after their baby was born, when they noticed “marked differences” in their second child’s skin tone and hair colour – but we’ll leave the IVF talk for another time.

While we’re relieved the recent confusion didn’t escalate to that level, our hearts go out to the affected parents. If it makes things any better, they’re not the only daddies and mummies in the world who have had to put up with such uncalled-for-mental anguish.

Let’s have a look at the many cases of baby mix-ups hospitals around the globe have seen, click on.