Meena Geltink and Minal Tijssen, who had been friends for decades and were adopted as infants from Mumbai, India, have discovered they are biological sisters through a DNA test. The two women, both in their 40s, were raised in the Netherlands by different adoptive families.
Geltink and Tijssen were born in the early 1980s and adopted from separate orphanages in Mumbai within months of each other. Their paths first crossed in their early teens at an event organized by their adoption agency. Both were struck by their similar appearances and mannerisms.
"All the adopted children were brought together to hang out and bond and have dinner," Geltink, 43, recounted. Friends present at the event noticed the striking resemblances between the two girls, with one remarking, "she has my nose! We have the same laugh."
Following their initial meeting, Geltink and Tijssen exchanged contact information and maintained a close correspondence for years, often referring to each other as "Sis" due to their perceived closeness. They shared details about their lives, including school, friends, and music, discovering shared tastes such as a mutual fondness for the Backstreet Boys.
Contact was lost approximately 15 years ago when Tijssen moved to France and Geltink became occupied with the birth of her first child. The recent DNA test, however, has reconnected them by revealing their biological relationship.