Two Friends Called Each Other “Sis.” A DNA Test Showed They Are Sisters

For years, Meena Geltink, 43, and Minal Tijssen, 44, were close friends. They even called each other “sis.” This year, a DNA test showed that they are biological sisters. The two women were adopted as babies from orphanages in Mumbai. Adopted means other families took them home and raised them. An orphanage is a home for children who do not have parents to care for them. The two girls grew up about 100 miles apart in the Netherlands, so they did not meet as children. Then, in 1996, when they were teenagers, they met and became close friends.

A DNA test looks at a person's genes. Genes are the information in the body that children get from their parents. The test showed that Meena and Minal share the same parents by birth. That means they are biological sisters. The test result explained why they called each other “sis.” It also solved a family mystery that was open for a long time.

In August, the two women met again in 's-Hertogenbosch. They cried, hugged and laughed together. It was the end of a long search. For Meena and Minal, the DNA test gave them the answer. After many years of friendship, they now know that they are sisters.