Identical Twins Switched at Birth Reunite by Chance After Decades Apart

Two pairs of twins grew up in opposite sides of Colombia, both thinking they were fraternal twins. One pair, William and Wilber, grew up in a remote village where people have to walk far to fetch water to drink and to give the animals in their farm. Meanwhile, Carlos and Jorge lived comfortably in Bogota, the country’s capital.

What each of them did not know is that they actually had identical twins and that they were switched at birth! Back in 1988, staff at the Colombian hospital where they were born made a huge mistake, swapping one baby from each set of identical twins, sending the parents home with their “fraternal” twins.

It was not until they were all grown up that the mistake was discovered – and it was entirely by coincidence. Each of them never had questions about their identity and accepted the fact that they were fraternal twins.

Jorge works for a natural gas company while William is a butcher at a grocery store in Bogota where he and Wilber are now residing. One of Jorge’s friends was surprised to see him working at the meat section as butcher, only to learn that the guy was actually William though he had no idea he had an identical twin!

This chance encounter set the wheels in motion and all four guys met. Would you believe they are now living together in one house as siblings? It would be difficult to exchange the twins and give them back to their respective parents so they thought it best to simply deal with the situation without breaking up the “fraternal” twins who grew up together while still allowing the identical twins form a bond. What an excellent idea!

Watch their story here:

Factors That Increase Chances of Multiple Births

There are factors that increase the likelihood of a couple having multiple babies.

Heredity – This is the reason why there are families that have plenty of multiple births (often twins); meaning, if one of the couple has a twin, it is highly likely they will also have twin children

Mother’s Age – Women between ages 30 and 40 produce higher levels of estrogen which could lead to stimulation of the ovaries to produce more than one egg at a given ovulation period

Fertility treatments – With fertility treatments on the rise these days, there’s also a spike in the incidence of multiple births, including an increase in the number of babies conceived by each mother

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