A brother and sister born in Brisbane are the second reported case of semi-identical twins in the world, believed to be the result of one egg being fertilised simultaneously by two sperm.
Every parent thinks their child is special, but a Queensland brother and sister truly are unique.
They have been identified as the second reported case of semi-identical, or sesquizygotic, twins in the world, and were the first to be diagnosed while still in the womb.They share 100 per cent of their mother's DNA and a proportion of their father's. The 28-year-old mother's six-week scan showed a single placenta, indicating identical twins, but the 14-week ultrasound revealed they were a male and a female.
University of New South Wales professor Nicholas Fisk was the maternal fetal specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital at the time. "It took us a long time to figure out how this happened, because all the conventional explanations didn't work," Professor Fisk said.
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