Human Chimera

Key points

• Human chimeras have two DNA’s

• This mostly occurs when a pregnant woman with twins loses one of them in the early stage of her pregnancy, and the surviving twin absorbs the DNA of the deceased

• A person can become a human chimera due to a bone marrow transplant.

The idea of a human chimera is so rare that if you see a movie on it, without prior knowledge of its existence you could rule it out as one of many scientific fictions. However, human chimeras are as real as every other human. Most human chimeras are oblivious of who they are. 

What is a Human Chimera?

A human chimera is a person with two different DNA’s. The DNA in the blood of a chimera might differ from the DNA in the ovaries of that same person. This is a rare condition that exists. A lot of people go through life without knowing they have two DNA.

How are Human Chimeras formed?

You might be wondering how a person ends up with two DNA. Well, unlike fictional tales of humans becoming vampires or werewolves as a result of a bite, there is a scientific explanation for people ending as human chimeras. 

Most cases of human chimera occur when a woman pregnant with fraternal twins, unfortunately, loses one of them during the early stages of the pregnancy, and the surviving twin absorbs the DNA of the deceased. Therefore, the child is born with its original DNA and the absorbed DNA of its twin that was never conceived. 

The consequences of being a human chimera are that you can fail at paternity because your child took the other DNA in your body. There is a report of a man failing a paternity test because his child carried the DNA of his never born twin. Even mothers go through this when the DNA in their blood is different from the DNA in their ovaries. Therefore, if a maternity test is conducted with their blood sample it won’t match the DNA of their child

Another way people can become a human chimera is after a bone marrow transplant. The transplant may infuse the recipient of some of the DNA of the donor. 

Finally

Life is not a one-way street, it is dicey and our understanding of nature is constantly shaken. So right now in the world, people are moving about with two different DNA. This is by no means a disease, just another case of nature being showing its complexity.

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