The oldest conjoined twins in the world have died at the age of 62.
Lori and George Schappell were born in Pennsylvania in the USA on 18 September 1961.
They were conjoined at the head facing in opposite directions, and were the oldest pair of conjoined twins in the world at the time of their deaths.
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Lori and George's skulls were connected, and they shared a blood supply and about 30 percent of their brain together.
This is the rarest form of conjoined twins and only makes up between two and six percent of cases.
They said that they would not like to be separated. Speaking in a documentary in 1997, George said: “Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?”
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Despite being joined at the head, the pair still lived lives independent of each other.
The pair would do their own hobbies in their own room, while the other said they would just 'zone out'.
Lori explained: “Just because we cannot get up and walk away from each other, doesn’t mean we cannot have solitude from other people or ourselves.”
Lori and George took this attitude with them into their romantic lives as well.
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Speaking to The Sun in 2011, Lori said: “When I went on dates, George would bring along books to read and, as we don’t face each other, he could ignore any kissing."
After Lori lost her virginity to her second boyfriend at 23, George said he was able to 'act like I’m not even there' while she was with a partner.
Lori became engaged at one point, but tragically lost her fiancé in a car accident.
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Speaking about the loss, she said: “George looked after me. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I could have lived through the heartbreak."
George and Lori lived to the age of 62, surpassing all expectations of medics when they were born.
At the time, many medics did not think that the twins would live to see their 30th birthday.
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In 2007, George came out as a trans man.
He said: “I have known from a very young age that I should have been a boy.
“I loved playing with trains and hated girly outfits. I kept my desire to change sex hidden – even from Lori – for many years.”
He added: “It was so tough, but I was getting older and I simply didn’t want to live a lie. I knew I had to live my life the way I wanted."
Lori was supportive of her brother, saying: “Obviously it was a shock when Dori changed to George, but I am so proud of him."
Topics: News, US News, World News, Guinness World Records
Kit Roberts