After refusing abortion, parents name daughter after doctor who saved twins' lives

After being offered a selective reduction abortion to abort one of their identical twin girls, parents in the UK opted for a risky surgery instead, and named one of their daughters after the doctor who saved the girls.

Key Takeaways:

• Twin sisters were diagnosed with two serious health conditions in the womb, including Twin-to-Twin transfusion syndrome, in which one twin receives too much blood and one receives too little.

• Options included taking no action, selectively aborting one baby, or surgery to try to save both babies.

• The parents chose surgery and both girls survived.

• The grateful parents named one of the girls after the doctor who saved them both.

The Details:

Geraldine Shannon-Pittam and Oscar Fearns learned at their 16-week ultrasound that their identical twins had two serious health conditions: Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence (TAPS) and Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).

TAPS is a condition in which one twin has more red blood cells than the other and TTTS is when one baby gets too much blood and nutrients and the other gets too little. Without treatment, there was an 80-90% chance that at least one of the girls would not survive.

"We went from a routine scan, to an hour-and-a-half later being told you’ve got to make a decision fast if you want them to survive," Oscar explained.

Geraldine told ITV News, "It was scary. They said there were a few options. We could do what they call 'selective restriction' and choose one baby over the other, or do nothing, or we could have this laser ablation."

In a selective reduction, one of the babies would be chosen to be aborted. The parents opted for the surgery instead, which would involve using laser ablation to seal the abnormal placental blood vessels. There was a 90% chance one twin would survive and a 70-80% chance both would survive. About 10% of the time, neither baby survives.

Dr. Asma Khalil, a professor from Liverpool Women's Hospital, is one of a handful of surgeons capable of carrying out the procedure.

"We use a laser to seal the connections between the blood vessels, essentially separating the circulation of each baby," Khalil said. "We know by doing this you increase the chance of a healthy life for both babies."

The surgery was successful, and the girls are now 10 months old and happy and healthy at home after being born prematurely at 29 weeks. They spent 70 days in the neonatal care units of Liverpool Women's Hospital and Ormskirk Hospital.

Their parents named them Luna and Asma, after the doctor who saved them.

"They'll always know that she was named after the surgeon who saved her life," the parents said.

Khalil called it "deeply humbling" and "one of the greatest honours of my career."

Why It Matters:

Parents have opted to abort one of the babies due to a TTTS diagnosis, however, selective reduction abortion carries a risk of miscarriage of both babies, premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, bleeding, and infection.

In addition, some people have reported that losing their twin in the womb had a lasting emotional impact on them. There is even a support group called Womb Twin Survivor to help survivors understand their underlying feelings of loneliness, fear of abandonment, and preoccupation with death.