DNA Analysis Reunites Two Sisters from India After More Than 40 Years of Separation

Mina and Minal, who were left as infants at an orphanage in India, were adopted by two Dutch families living just a short drive apart.

During their childhood, neither knew of the other’s existence. Then, in 1996, when they were teenagers living only 160 kilometers apart, they met at a gathering for adopted children and felt an unusually strong bond.

Their friends were struck by their striking resemblance, and the two girls exchanged addresses. In their correspondence, they jokingly referred to each other as “my sister” before losing contact for 15 years.

Mina Jeltink, 43, a mother of three, struggled to express her overwhelming joy, saying, “For years, I felt a void in my heart… It’s like finding a missing piece of a puzzle.”

Speaking to her sister on Tuesday during an emotional reunion in the Netherlands, Jeltink said, “When I see you, I feel like I’m home.”

Since discovering their relationship through a DNA test conducted via the MyHeritage platform in April—which revealed a rare 100 percent match—the sisters have been spending hours each day talking and exchanging messages.

Minal Thijsen, 44, said she had no records of her biological relatives. She added that she grew up in a loving environment with her Dutch parents and siblings, yet she described feeling a deep sense of loneliness.

Thijsen, who lives in France with her husband and two sons, was sitting on the sofa in April when a notification appeared on her phone indicating the arrival of her DNA test results. “Mina: Sister… I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Thijsen said, “We were friends before we became sisters… We were sisters all along, but we didn’t know it.”

Initially, Thijsen did not realize that she was the same teenage girl who had clung to her when they first met 30 years ago. She only fully grasped the reality after finding her on social media and looking at the photos, saying, “Now it’s real.”