Friend,

Did you know that there’s a life saving surgery for twins diagnosed with a rare genetic disease while they’re still in the womb?

Recently, Drs. Tara Sander Lee and Kathryn Nix Carnahan, two of our Charlotte Lozier Institute scholars, wrote an article for the Daily Signal about twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and the emerging field of fetal surgery. They write:

“Fetal surgery, in which babies receive life saving treatment while in the womb, is one of the next frontiers of medicine.”

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome is a life-threatening condition for both babies and is caused by connections in the blood flow between identical twins who share one placenta. That leads the smaller twin to pump blood to the other, larger twin. If left untreated, advanced forms of the disease are fatal between 80% and 100% of the time.

And until recently, parents who were told that their unborn babies had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome were often given one option: aborting one of their children.

Imagine being a mother, carrying two precious lives inside you, or the father standing with his wife in the doctor’s office, and hearing your ob-gyn tell you to choose one child’s life over the other. This still occurs, despite the fact that fetal laser surgery for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome has a proven record of saving both babies at all stages of the disease.

Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, parents now have hope for a bright future for both their babies with fetal laser surgery to correct twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

Here’s an excerpt from the article – you can continue reading at the Daily Signal:

Giving Preborn Twins With a Rare Disorder the Lifesaving Chance They Deserve

By: Tara Sander Lee & Kathryn Nix | September 27, 2019

Earlier this year, parents in North Carolina faced heartbreaking news in the second trimester of pregnancy—their twin girls had developed a disease called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a life-threatening condition for both babies, caused by connections in the blood flow between identical twins who share one placenta.

That leads the smaller (donor) twin to pump blood to the other, larger (recipient) twin. If left untreated, advanced forms of the disease are fatal between 80% and 100% of the time.

The news was devastating, and the potential outcome for both babies was grim. But the medical team at the Charlotte Fetal Care Center offered a glimmer of hope...

Continue Reading

High-volume fetal therapy centers, such as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, report a higher than 90% survival rate of at least one baby and a higher than 80% survival rate of both babies after laser ablation. The Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Center reports similar data of higher than 80% overall survival of at least one or both twins.

If you found this latest update from our scholars as encouraging as I did, please forward my email on to your friends and family!

For LIFE,

Chuck Donovan
President, Charlotte Lozier Institute

P.S. With your investment, our associate scholars are doing amazing, life-affirming work! Can you make a gift to ensure our scholars keep writing and spreading the news about exciting medical breakthroughs like fetal surgery?

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