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Conjoined twins Maliyah and Kendra Herrin made headlines around the world when they were successfully separated in August 2006. After the surgery, Kendra kept the one kidney the girls had shared, leaving Maliyah in desperate need for one of her own.
On April 3, 2007, the twins' mom, Erin, donated her right kidney to her 5-year-old daughter. Doctors carefully removed Erin's kidney, then reconstructed it to fit Maliyah's tiny body.
"It seemed to work almost immediately after the blood began to flow to it," says Dr. John Sorenson, her transplant surgeon. "Everything went very smoothly, as well as we could have possibly hoped for."
Maliyah's father Jake says he is very grateful. "[The doctors] perform miracle after miracle after miracle," he says. "Looking back, it's amazing how far we've come."
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