An extremely rare occurrence.
A Washington state couple became alarmed when the child they bore did not share the same blood type as either parent.
As the couple went through the artificial insemination process, they were convinced that the wrong sperm had been used in the conception.
However, as Medical Daily reports, ‘the subsequent DNA test revealed the existence of the father’s long lost twin. The twin’s DNA, it turns out, had been absorbed into the body of his brother after he died early in the mother’s pregnancy. Thirty-four years later, still inside the surviving brother’s body, it was used to produce the couple’s child.’
This is a very rare genetic phenomenon known as a chimerism. Most individuals have two sets of DNA — one inherited from each parent — chimeras have extra DNA. In some cases, such as this, the extra set comes from a long lost twin that they absorbed while still in the womb.
There must have been fierce tension in that couple’s relationship when it first became apparent that the baby did not share the same blood type as either parent, but thankfully all’s well that ends well.
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