A confused student was left wondering why she was told she 'didn't exist' after receiving Ancestry DNA kit results.
Lydia Ellen, who asked to only be referred to by her first and middle name, asked her mum for her medical records ahead of moving to university in Southampton.
But after seeing her vaccination certificate she noticed her MMR jab – usually given at around 18-months-old – was dated as having been administered in July 1997.
Lydia was born in May 1998, so couldn't possibly have received her jab on that date.
The 23-year-old told the Liverpool Echo : "I was very very confused. I asked my parents and they were just as confused, as obviously my mum would know when I was born and vaccinated because they had me and took me for them.
"There was nothing that ever made me question my age if I'm honest. Most people always thought I was younger than I was. I thought it must be an innocent mistake."
A few years later Lydia got herself an Ancestry DNA test for her birthday after becoming curious about her ethnicity and family.
Her results showed 34% of her genetic make-up can be traced back to England and north-west Europe, with North West England featuring prominently in her results.
Merseyside and the Wirral Peninsula were highlighted as particular areas of importance for Lydia's genealogy.
But she was left 'shocked' and 'confused' after trying to start her family tree.
Lydia said: "I don't have a very big family so wanted to find out more.
"I obtained my results, saying my origins are mostly from the UK, however, when I went to type my name and date of birth into Ancestry to start off my family tree, it stated there was no one with my name and birth date on record, only people with my name with a different birth date.
"There was no one with my name and date of birth existing."
The student took to TikTok and began questioning who she was.
Lydia was told her vaccination records are a simple mistake and said she can only assume Ancestry was wrong because they have few records on her.
She said: "I figured out that the vaccination records are a simple mistake, were mis-written or not written clearly.
"Regarding Ancestry, I can only assume it's because they have very few records on me because I haven't moved, got married, died, etc.
"We don't know where my birth certificate is currently, but I'd imagine I must've seen it before at some point or it must've been used.
"We've examined other records that line up with my birth date. I've had no trouble obtaining legal documents however."
After sharing her story to her 60,000 followers on TikTok Lydia was 'overwhelmed' by the response and even found other people who had been through the same thing.
Lydia, from Cheshire, said: "I've had an overwhelming response, sadly lots of hate... however, there have been a handful of people say that the same has happened to them.
"I've even had some people try and work out who I am by delving into records and even missing people's cases."
