CLEVELAND — The world’s oldest conjoined twins plan to celebrate surpassing the life span of the original “Siamese Twins” on Saturday with a celebration in Ohio. Donnie and Ronnie Galyon turn 62 years, 8 months and 8 days old, thereby outliving Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins who lived from 1811 to 1874. A party for the Galyons is planned in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from NBC News
The Galyons are joined at the sternum and share organs, which became an issue four years ago when Ronnie was sick with a virus that affected Donnie’s health as well. The twins live with their younger brother Jim Galyon and his wife Mary. Galyon said his older brothers toured with their father, and at times seven other siblings, as a “human oddity” until the shows fell out of fashion in the 1970s. They aim to break the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-lived conjoined twins, Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci of Italy, when they turn 63 in October, their brother said. “It has been lifelong goal to reach this age,” Galyon said.
— Reuters