Seeing a pair of twins in the street is often enough to make us do a double take and despite the fact that twins are slowly becoming more and more common as the world’s population grows, we still see them as something of a strange phenomenon.
But if you find the concept of two identical people strange, wait until you hear about these even rarer types of twins. We’ll take a look at 9 unique and rare twins you won’t believe exist.
Nelly and Neev: Nelly and Neev are from Amsterdam and they are conjoined twins. They were born conjoined by the back of their heads. They are what’s known in the medical world as craniopagus twins, the rarest type of them all.
They were told they wouldn’t see past the age of 10, but they are surviving years beyond what doctors predicted. They have been attached by the backs of their heads for the past 19 years. But the inspirational women have their own brains and bodies. They are unable to be separated because they share a main artery in the head, unable to see each other directly.
Nelly and Neev grew up looking at their reflections in the mirror but despite their lack of contact, the sisters have a bond like no other. The sisters even have a YouTube channel and they educate the public about their diagnosis and everyday lifestyle.
Lucy and Maria: Lucy and Maria are from Gloucester UK. Lucy and Maria are about as close as two twin sisters can get, but you’d never guess it just from looking at them. Lucy has fair skin and straight red hair while her sister has curly hair and dark skin. They are 24 years old and they are actual twins sisters who simply inherited different genes from their parents.
Despite their different appearance, Lucy and Maria couldn’t be happier to have each other as sisters. “No one ever believes we are twins because I am white and Maria is black,” Lucy said. “Even when we dress alike, we still don’t even look like sisters, let alone twins,” she added.
Shivanath and Shivam Sahu: Shivanath and Shivam Sahu are born in a remote village in India. Each twin has two arms but unfortunately, they have to balance this on only two legs. They are conjoined at the waist and have to crawl in a coordinated manner.
They share just about everything except the lungs, heart and frames. They even have the same stomach but that is not what makes Shivanath and Shivam special. What really makes them special is the fact that they turned down the opportunity to get separated when they were approached by a team of four doctors.
Sheriq and Teriq Elliott: Twins are often born identical or look similar in appearance, but in the case of the Florida brother and sister, the two couldn’t look more different.
9-year-old Sheriq was born with albinism, but her twin brother Teriq was born without the condition, leaving many strangers refusing to believe that the pair are actually twins due to their wide contrasting features. The twins older sister Shatteria was also born with the condition even though no albinism runs in the family.
Manar Maged: Manar Maged is from Egypt and she was suffering from a rare condition that occurs when an embryo splits in the womb but doesn’t develop fully into a twin. Her second head contained eyes, nose and mouth but was not collected to any internal organs. The condition is one of the rarest forms of birth defects.
Her second head could smile and blink but could not survive independently of course. This prevented her from leading a normal childhood, so her parents opted to give her surgery to remove the second head.
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The surgery was successful, but unfortunately the story has a tragic ending. When she was released from the hospital, she developed complications and soon after, she was readmitted in very poor condition. She had developed a serious brain infection and died soon afterward.
Ella and Anah: Ella and Anah are from Edmonton Canada and they are just regular 16-year-old teens except for one thing that sets them apart. The identical sisters were both born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a medical condition that alters their facial features and bone structures.
Along with their unique appearances, Ella and Anah grew up undergoing many plastic surgery operations and procedures. But after years of dealing with their diagnosis, the sisters decided to create an Instagram page dedicated to their lives. Now the sisters are hopeful to spread positivity and joy among those who were born with a similar diagnosis.
Carmen and Lupita: Unlike some set of conjoined twins who can be surgically separated, Carmen and Lupita shared too many vital organs to ever be parted. When Carmen and Lupita were born, doctors warned their parents they would only survive a few days at most, but the girls were able to beat the odds.
The sister shares a spinal cord and chest wall and a joint from there to the pelvis where their spines meet. Lupita has two arms while Carmen have control of one. But they have only one leg with Carmen controlling the right leg and Lupita the left leg. They also share some ribs in the liver, a circulatory system as well as digestive and reproductive systems.
Although they have completely different personalities, they say they’ll never want to be separated and would prefer to be conjoined forever.
Julia and Michael Toronezak: Julia and Michael are 24 years old from San Diego California are among the rarest pair of twins in the world. Michael was born with down syndrome but not Julia.
Michael has such a severe form of down syndrome that he is unable to speak. But despite this rare occurrence, the siblings are super close friends who love to do everything together.
Ronnie and Donnie Garlon: Ronnie and Donnie Garlon are the longest living conjoined twins in human history. According to 2009 Guinness World Records, they were conjoined at the stomach and shared only the lower digestive system. Doctors said there was no guarantee that they would live long, but at the ripe old age of 68, Ronnie and Danny are the longest living conjoined twins. They have lived all of that 68 years facing one another. They passed away on July 4, 2020 at the age of 68.
