Monday, 18 May, 2009 Offbeat

A mother from the United States gave birth to twins who were found to have different fathers. After undergoing DNA tests, Mia Washington from Dallas, Texas, made everything clear by admitting that she was dating another man when she conceived, thus two eggs were fertilized by the sperm of two men.

Together with her partner, the woman decide to undergo DNA tests at Dallas DNA Lab Clear Diagnostics after noticing that the twins have different facial features.

"Out of all people in America and of all people in the world, it had to happen to me. I'm very shocked," Miss Washington said.

The paternity test showed that there is a 99.999 percent chance that the 11-moth-old twins, named Justin and Jordan have different fathers. According to specialists from the lab, it is for the first time that they receive such a result and they are less likely to see it again.

"It is very crazy. Most people don't believe it can happen, but it can," said Clear Diagnostics President Genny Thibodeaux. Only a few similar cases were documented around the globe. The doctors call this condition heteropaternal superfecundation.

According to Dr Chris Dreiling, twins from different fathers is a condition that can occur if the conception takes places when mother lets go of multiple eggs during ovulation. In case a woman had more than one sexual partner during the same period of ovulation, sperm cells are able to fertilize two separate eggs.

The father of the two babies said he has forgiven his finance and decided to be with her and raise the twins together. The woman mentioned that as soon as the babies grow old enough to understand, she will tell them the truth about why they have different DNA. At the same time she has no intention of telling the truth to the other biological father.