A 34-year-old man, Adediji Moses, has asked the management of Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, to explain the reason his daughter is a sickle cell carrier.
The father-of-three said his genotype is SC, while that of his wife is AA, so he does not understand why they supposedly gave birth to a child that is SS.
He who went viral when he shared a video claiming that there was an swap of his biological child at birth, noted that the hospital management is hiding something from him.
Moses said; “What I want from them is to investigate to know what happened and how I had a daughter with the SS genotype when my wife and I have the AA and SC genotypes, respectively. I also want them to find out the doctors in charge on the night my wife delivered a baby and those who were responsible for swapping my baby.
I also want the Oyo State Government to intervene in the issue because the hospital is owned by the state government. I want them to also help me. They should ensure that the investigation is quickly done to find out who was responsible for swapping my child.”
He also recalled the the child in question was birthed in 2018, and at the time his wife did not know she was due for delivery.
In his words; “It happened in 2018. My daughter was born on November 15. Before her delivery, we didn’t even realise that my wife was ready to have a child. She said she didn’t feel too well and we decided to take her to the hospital for a checkup. On arrival at the hospital, the medical workers were on strike and we met only a nurse when we got there late in the night. She stated that she could not tend to her and we were referred to Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo State.
When we got there at midnight, they attended to us and my wife had a baby. After the delivery, my grandmother who accompanied us to the hospital told me to go to bed because she was with us. After the delivery, we were told that my baby had jaundice and something in her brain and that without treatment, she would be dull.
With that said, we were asked to stay back at the hospital and we spent up to a month there. In 2021, my wife and I were already in Lagos where we work and my daughter became ill. My grandmother took her to the hospital for treatment and that was what led to us conducting a genotype test. When I was told that she had sickle cell disease. I said it was not possible because my genotype is SC while my wife’s is AA. Later, I took all my children to Ogbomosho and we conducted several tests.
Despite all the tests done, she (my daughter) always came back as SS and this became an issue for me. How is that possible? We were also invited as a family and all of us had our test conducted and the results were the same. We also went to Sickle Cell Foundation, Lagos, and we had the test done and it was the same. This last admission was two weeks ago when she became seriously ill which frustrated me so much that despite not being financially strong, despite finding it very difficult to feed myself and my family, I have a child whose care is taking from me almost everything I work for.
I took my wife to the hospital myself but I wasn’t in the labour room where she had the child. I was outside. With all that I’ve seen so far and the information available to me, which is clear, what is certain is that my child was swapped at birth; that is what it means. The money I have spent on the child is so much that I can’t state the exact amount. However, in the last two years, she has taken almost everything I have worked for.
I can’t start calculating it, but it has not been easy for me. I was frustrated by the thought that my child may have been swapped at birth. I’m still really frustrated running up and down for her care. This is what I had been running away from before I got married. I did not want to marry a wife whose genotype is not AA. We were all taught and we know which genotypes are compatible and the ones that are not. I did my due diligence when I wanted to get married.”