Jodhpur woman gives birth to rare conjoined twins sharing liver

Conjoined twin boys, sharing a liver, were born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, marking a medical rarity, as many such babies do not survive the delivery.

The newborn brothers were born on June 30 at the Umaid Hospital here. The twins were kept in a nursery after their mother Sita Bawri gave birth to them.

Doctors said at least one million rupees (USD 15,742.31) is required to conduct surgery to separate the conjoined twins.

Doctors at the local hospital have referred the twins to state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for the surgery.

"This is a very rare congenital, malformation. We have done sonography and other tests. Their heart is normal and they share a liver where one has left lob and other has the right lob," said Doctor OP Sharma on Tuesday.

Though the parents of the twins are rejoiced at their birth, they realise tough days lay ahead.

"Doctor is saying they would conduct all check ups. We have been facing problems for past 20 days because of this," said father of conjoined twins, Dinesh.

Conjoined twins occur once every 200,000 births and most do not survive. About 40 percent to 60 percent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn, and about 35 percent live only one day, according to reports from the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Mortality rates for twins who do live and then undergo separation vary, depending on their type of connection and the organs they share, it said.