Kendra Deene Herrin and Maliyah Mae Herrin (born February 26, 2002) are former

conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...

. They were separated in August 2006. They were the first set of conjoined twins to be separated to share a

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

. Kendra retained their shared kidney following the separation surgery, while Maliyah Herrin underwent dialysis until she was transplanted with a kidney donated by her mother in April 2007. Prior to the separation surgery, medical ethicists in the United States and in Europe discussed whether it was ethical to separate the twins because of the additional risk to Maliyah. Their family and doctors believed separation surgery would give both girls their best chance to live a normal life.

Early life

The twins were born at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Medical Center in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, to Erin and Jake Herrin. They began their lives as

of a form termed Ischiopagus (Type D) / Omphalopagus (Type B) conjoined twins, meaning that they were joined at the abdomen and the pelvis; they had between them an abdomen, pelvis, liver, kidney, large intestine and two legs (each twin controlling one leg). Although separation of most conjoined twins is more likely to be successful at a much earlier age, transplantation of a kidney is not generally possible in children younger than age four. Doctors debated whether they should be separated because of the risk to Maliyah, but their parents and doctors ultimately decided to go forward with the surgery, feeling it gave them their best chance at a normal life. They have been the subject of numerous news articles and have made appearances on television talk shows, including

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

Separation

The Herrin twins were approximately four and a half years old when they were separated in an operation that began at 7 a.m. on Monday, August 7, 2006, lasted nearly 18 hours, and involved six surgeons. Surgery on the girls then continued in two separate operations lasting up to eight more hours into the morning of August 8. The twins went home from the hospital to their family on September 17, 2006.

Kidney transplant

Kendra retained the single kidney which the twins had shared. Maliyah immediately began

hemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatinin ...

, which continued until April 3, 2007, when she was transplanted with a kidney donated by her 26-year-old mother, Erin. Maliyah was reported to be doing well following the transplant, as was her mother. In 2015, Maliyah's body started to reject the kidney. A few months later, despite intense treatment to slow down the process, it was definite that her kidney wouldn't be able to function for much longer. Maliyah received another kidney transplant in May 2018, which has so far been successful.

Progress

Following their separation surgery, both girls began learning to walk using crutches. Their parents have discussed having them eventually fitted with prosthetic legs. They also get around using wheelchairs or by crawling and pulling themselves up on furniture, according to the family's website. Jake and Erin Herrin's other children include fraternal twin sons and another daughter.

Book

The twins' mother wrote a book in 2009 titled "When Hearts Conjoin". It is the only book about conjoined twins written by a parent of conjoined twins.

References

External links

Former family website, via Internet ArchiveWhen Hearts Conjoin Co-Author, Lu Ann Brobst Staheli's site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrin, Kendra And Maliyah Conjoined twins 2002 births Living people American twins Kidney transplant recipients American amputees