Australian woman discovers twin brother after 49 years through DNA test
A commercial DNA test revealed that Chantal Doecke, rescued from Vietnam as a newborn, has a twin brother living in Brisbane.
Born in Saigon and evacuated to Adelaide during Operation Babylift in 1975, Chantal Doecke grew up with limited knowledge of her biological origins. An early DNA test in 2015 yielded distant cousins but no close family, until a dormant sample was re-examined in July 2024, uncovering a near-identical match to a man named Glenn in Brisbane. With her daughter Brooklyn’s help, Doecke located Glenn online, learned his April birthday aligned with her own arrival month, and arranged a phone call in November 2024.
The twins met face-to-face two months later, experiencing a powerful but complex emotional connection. Their story underscores the incomplete records and lasting impact of the 1970s evacuation of over 3,000 Vietnamese children, many of whom were adopted abroad.
Why it matters
The case illustrates how modern DNA testing can resolve decades-old adoption mysteries from historic humanitarian evacuations.
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