Switched at birth! Raleigh man reunites with biological sister

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A Raleigh man recently reunited with his biological sister on a Russian talk show. Now he is trying to find a way to get her to the United States for the holidays.

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Anatoliy Lashtur grew up in Moldova with his older sister Tatyana and their other two siblings.

When he was 18, the family moved to the U.S. and rumors of a biological sister they'd never met followed them.

Finally, last month, his parents traveled from Wake Forest to Moldova to track down a name.

Back in the U.S., Tatyana searched Facebook for a woman named Valentina and discovered 39 years ago, they were born in the same hospital on the same day to two women who were being treated in the same room; somehow, they got switched in the hours after their birth.

Earlier this month, Lashtur and his family were reunited with Valentina on a talk show in Russia where the DNA results were revealed.

"It was unbelievable," Lashtur said. "I was holding her as hard as I could and I could tell she wasn't breathing easy."

It's been a joyful time but also a challenging time for everyone involved.

"I don't know what to say," Lashtur said about his conversation with Tatyana. "I just found out from my mom what happened. But I wanted you to know that we love you and you are our sister and nothing changes. The only difference is we gain a sister and you gain like three sisters and more brothers."

Now, Lashtur has launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Valentina to come to the U.S. for the holidays, as well as legal fees as they work to move her to North Carolina permanently.