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Monday 5 August

The Conjoined Twins: An Impossible Decision
BBC Two, 9.00pm

Recent coverage of the operation to separate Safa and Marwa Ullah, Pakistani sisters born

with their skulls fused together, highlighted the plight of conjoined twins. But where the

Ullahs’ case emphasised the groundbreaking medical procedures undertaken at London’s Great

Ormond Street Hospital, tonight’s absorbing documentary – also based at GOSH – focuses on the

moral issues faced by those working in paediatric care. We meet two-and-a-half-year olds

Marieme and Ndeye, who have been brought over by their father Ibrahima from Senegal. They have

separate hearts and lungs but Marieme’s heart is weak and deteriorating. Were she to die, her

sister would die with her. Should the team operate, however, it’s certain that Marieme would

not survive but Ndeye might flourish. The film foregrounds the relationship between the

hospital’s medical team and its Clinical Ethics Committee as they negotiate this complex

decision, carefully balancing the rights of each twin with the wishes of their father. The

task is an unenviably delicate one, but the film emphasises the determination of all involved

to find the best outcome for the children. TD