Woman horrified after DNA test revealed disturbing family secret that she’ll never get over

When US mum Victoria Hill underwent a DNA test last year in a bid for answers on her family's health history, she could never have foreseen the results turning her life completely upside-down.

Not only did the procedure reveal a dark secret regarding the mother-of-two's parentage, but the results also exposed a heinous injustice that had been committed by one of her local Connecticut doctors.

Within a matter of weeks, Hill discovered that the man she's always known to be her father, was not - and, even more shocking, that her ex-boyfriend was actually her brother.

Hill appeared on ITV's This Morning this week, where she recalled the earth-shattering revelation.

Speaking to hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd, she began her stomach-wrenching story by explaining that she'd supplied a saliva sample to genetic exploration service 23andMe.

Naturally, when the results came back revealing that the presumed only-child had a number of half-siblings, she assumed there was a glitch in the system.

"But I very quickly dismissed it and thought it was an error," she told the presenters.

It was also around this time that Hill suddenly began receiving a number of emails from an unknown woman who claimed they might be half-sisters.

"As she continued to push, she said, 'Did your mother go to Yale Fertility Clinic to get help for fertility?'," Hill added.

All at once, the truth emerged. her parents had struggled with fertility prior to her birth, and had received treatment at the same clinic mentioned by the woman.

Victoria Hill recalled the horror during an appearance on This Morning (ITV)

"She had my attention and she gave me the rest of the information," Hill continued, revealing that the doctor in charge of the procedure was actually her biological father.

Both Hill's mother and the other woman's mum had been treated by New England endocrinologist Burton Caldwell for several years.

His sperm had been used during both of their fertility treatment, instead of the sample belonging to her mother's husband.

"It was pretty surreal. It took a while to set in," she admitted on the show. "I have to say growing up I felt a part of me was different or distant, we used to have a joke, between my father and I, that the only thing that was similar was our hands.

"In some weird ways, it clicked. But it seemed too bizarre, throughout the different stages of it.

"Not only is it the man who raised me not my biological father, but my mother's doctor that she went to for over eight years of treatment trying to conceive, then kind of bringing her the news, sharing that with her."

Hill discovered that her mother's former fertility doctor was actually her biological father (ITV)

In the weeks that followed, Hill discovered that she had as many as 25 other siblings from her local area - one being someone she used to date.

She says it was her ex that got in touch with her over the matter.

In the weeks prior, the pair had gotten together with a number of high school friends when Hill broke the bizarre news of her newfound siblings to the group.

"We started sharing info with close friends and fast forward to a dinner and it was at that time that as I'm telling this story, my high school boyfriend, now friend, looked like he was turning something over in his head," she remembered.

"His mother had recently told him that (...) [she] went for fertility treatment with his father."

Hill added: "He ultimately called his mother and his mother confirmed that the same doctor had performed the same procedure."

Recalling a message from her former boyfriend - who wishes to remain anonymous - she continued: "He sent me the screenshot that, 'You are my sister'.

Hill discovered that she and her high school sweetheart were half-siblings (CNN)

"The mind-boggling thing about it was as he sent me the screenshot, I had the notification from my phone on 23andMe that you have a new half-sibling."

While the act of 'misrepresenting the source of sperm, eggs or embryos used to treat infertility' is prohibited under state fertility-fraud laws, it is not considered a federal crime, according to the University of San Diego School of Law.

Dr Caldwell, therefore, faced no charges before his death in February of this year.

"There really are no [regulations]," Hill said. "That’s why we’re fighting. That’s why I’m bringing this story out, so that we can get some better laws, protections and regulations out there."

Prior to his passing, however, Dr Caldwell's biological daughter did get a chance to confront him.

"When I asked him, 'Why?', he said, 'It was in the business of making babies'," Hill recalled. "There wasn’t a lot of remorse; there wasn’t a lot of concern."