World’s oldest conjoined twins die at age 62

Doctors gave them no more than thirty years of life expectancy. American conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who died on April 7 at the age of 62, finally proved the predictions wrong. Their death, which occurred at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, was announced by the American press and confirmed on April 12 by the Guinness Book of World Records. They were 62 years and 202 days old, nine years older than the oldest Siamese twins ever recorded by the organization. The cause of their death has not been specified.

Lori and George Schappell were from Pennsylvania, in the eastern United States, where they were born on September 18, 1961. The twins had partially fused skulls, sharing vital blood vessels and 30% of their brains (at namely the frontal and parietal lobes). Born as two sisters, the twins had for several years been considered the oldest mixed Siamese sibling, with George coming out as transgender in 2007.

The latter had pursued a career as a country singer alongside his sister, who was physically affected by a spinal disorder and was unable to walk. In a documentary broadcast in 1997, the twins discussed their situation and the possibility of being separated through surgery. “Why fix something that’s not broken?”George asked.