Conjoined twin sisters who were famously ”cut in half” in 2006 and became world pioneers are now living as separate adults. Try not to smile when you see these girls today…

Kendra and Maliyah Herrin were born on February 26, 2002, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as conjoined twins. Sharing vital organs—including a large intestine, bladder, liver, and a single kidney—the sisters faced life-threatening complications from the very start. Doctors even advised their parents, Erin and Jake, to consider abortion, but the couple chose to give their daughters a chance at life.

As the girls grew, the family confronted a heartbreaking decision: keep them conjoined or attempt a dangerous separation surgery. The biggest challenge was their shared kidney. After years of waiting, doctors determined that Kendra would keep the kidney while Maliyah would eventually need a transplant.

On August 7, 2006, a team of six surgeons performed a groundbreaking procedure. Remarkably, both girls survived, becoming the first conjoined twins ever successfully separated while sharing a kidney. Recovery was grueling—bandage changes took hours, and both sisters had to relearn movement with only one leg each. Maliyah also required regular dialysis until her mother donated a kidney when the girls were five.

That kidney lasted 10 years before Maliyah’s body began to reject it in 2015. In 2018, however, she received a successful transplant from an anonymous donor. Today, both sisters live independently but remain inseparably close. In 2022, they celebrated their 20th birthday, with Maliyah graduating from technical college and pursuing graphic design.

Through every hardship—risky surgery, dialysis, rehabilitation—the Herrin twins have shown extraordinary resilience and positivity. Their journey is a powerful reminder of courage, family love, and the will to defy the odds.