Family diversity advocates insist that it really makes no difference to a child whether or not they are raised by their own biological parents so long as they are raised by at least one loving parent, whether that parent figure is biologically related to the child or not.

Among other things this view ignores the importance to identity to children. Adopted children often go in search of their biological parents because their biological parents are part of their identity. Donor-conceived children often go looking for their sperm-donor father or egg-donor mother for the same reason. It’s no good telling them that being raised by your own biological parents is of no importance.

Now a case in Brazil provides further evidence that biological origins do indeed matter to people.

Dimas Aliprandi at a young age questioned why his features did not resemble those of his sisters and parents.

“There was something different”, he said. “I had blonde hair and blue eyes and my sisters had dark hair and dark colored eyes. I had the typical features of a descendant of German immigrants, while my sisters and parents were of Italian stock. Something did not add up”.

His curiosity was heightened after watching a news report on babies who had been accidentally been switched at birth

“I told my father of my doubts and that I wanted to do a DNA test. But it was too expensive for the family”.

Aliprandi at the age of 24 decided to finally answer his curiosity by paying 300 reals ($166.00) for a DNA test, the results of which confirmed his suspicion. The people who had raised him over the last 24 years of his life were not his natural parents.

Aliprandi’s parents were initial shocked, but accepted the results of the DNA test and provided Aliprandi help in searching for his natural parents. The search began at Aliprandi’s place of birth, Regina Protmann Hospital.

After taking another DNA test, to confirm the original tests results (both results matched). Aliprandi then started to look in the hospital records and found that another baby boy, Elton Plaster, was born on the same day as Aliprandi.

Aliprandi tracked down the Plaster family and explained the switch of babies. The Plaster family agreed to undergo a DNA test, which revealed that Aliprandi was indeed their biological son.

Once the news was confirmed, the Plaster family invited the Aliprandi to live on their farm, where they now work together.

If the family diversity advocates are correct, and biological origins really don’t count for much, than Aliprandi wouldn’t have cared who his biological parents were and would never have gone in search of them. But he did care, because biology does matter and no-one should pretend otherwise.