Our mission

Gemini Untwined is providing hope and treatment for cranially conjoined twins globally through pioneering research and treatment.

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Our Journey

2006

The origin

In 2006, Gemini Untwined trustees Professors Richard Hayward and David Dunaway were referred a set of craniopagus twins, still in the womb.
 
Having no experience in such separation surgeries, they contacted New York colleagues, neurosurgeon Jim Goodrich and plastic surgeon David Staffenberg, who came to London to help with the first and last of four staged procedures in 2006.
Rital and Ritag, craniopagus twins, lying on a bed pre-operation.

2011

Rital & Ritag

In 2011, Gemini’s founder Owase Jeelani and Professor David Dunaway led the successful separation of Sudanese craniopagus twins, Rital and Ritag.

Following the separation, the team spent several years researching and refining their approach and presenting this work for the global medical community to learn from. It was during this time that they co-founded FaceValue, a unique team of researchers, doctors, scientists, and biomedical engineers.

Safa & Marwa lie on a bed post-operation. One of them smiles happily at the other.

2018

Safa & Marwa – and the creation of Gemini Untwined

In 2017, Mr Jeelani was approached by a local neurosurgeon in Pakistan to treat Safa and Marwa, a set of craniopagus twins.

The team had the medical, surgical and research expertise but logistics remained a challenge. Mr Jeelani realized that these children and families were rather poorly served, globally.

And so, Gemini Untwined was born.

Following the separation in 2019, Gemini Untwined received widespread international recognition and we have since provided hope to a number of children and their families as well as the medical teams in their home countries.  

Yigit and Derman pre-operation, lying on a padded floor.

2020

Yigit & Derman

After 3 sets of girls, this time we had 2 boys referred to us. Mr Jeelani first saw them in August 2019 in Türkiye. Following discussions with the family and the Turkish medical teams, Gemini Untwined was requested to proceed with the attempted separation. Logistics and funding proved to be easier with the charity up and running. The boys were brought to London in December 2019 and the separation was completed in January 2020. The boys were transferred back to Türkiye to continue their rehabilitation.

The Israeli craniopagus twins lying on a hospital bed post-operation.

2021

2022

Israeli Twins

In  2021, we were contacted by the team at the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel. There, we were introduced to our fourth set of craniopagus twins: twin girls born locally. This was the first set of twins in Israel and Gemini Untwined partnered with the local medical team to plan and undertake the surgery in Israel. This was the first time the Gemini Untwined team undertook a separation in the children’s home country fulfilling one of our key aims of disseminating knowledge and expertise globally. 

In 2022, further surgeries are taking place in Latin America and Africa.

An image of Arthur and Bernardo, craniopagus twins, before their separation surgery. They are being held up by their parents and a doctor, and are on a hospital bed.

2022

Arthur and Bernardo, and the launch of Gemini’s first Global Partner Hub

After two and a half years of care and multiple procedures, the medical team at the Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sought out our advice and expertise to separate twin boys, Arthur and Bernardo. At nearly four years old and with fused brains, this was our most complex case to date and marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with the hospital. This ensures that similar cases in Latin America receive the same level of world class care in the future.