Black & White: Two In A Million
Welcoming new twins into the world is always a momentous event.
But twins Ryan and Leo Gerth had an extra surprise for their parents—they were born with different colored skin: black and white. Doctors say it is an extremely rare occurrence, but it is possible if genes combine in a certain way. Experts say pairs of black and white twins are so rare they only occur in one in a MILLION births.
The twin boys, Ryan and Leo, born in Germany’s town of Lichtenberg, are the offspring of a mixed-race couple. Born to a Ghanaian mother and a German father, Ryan is white and Leo is black. Mum, Florence, 35, hails from Ghana in western Africa and dad, Stephan, 40, from Potsdam in Germany.
“Ryan came first, and everything was as usual,” said the Sana Hospital’s doctor Birgit Weber. “But when Leo was born, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
“The staff came from all corners of the ward to see and the mother just kept looking from one child to the other.”
The Lichtenberg maternity ward’s head doctor, Birgit Weber, who helped deliver the tots by caesarean section in Berlin, said that in 20 years of practice this was the first time she had seen different colored twins. The doctor said she had been present at some 10,000 births over almost 20 years and had never seen anything quite like this.
“It is very unusual for twins to be born with different skin color,” Weber said. “It’s the first time for our clinic.”
“Both kids have definitely the same father,” she added.
Stephan, the dad, said though the couple were surprised by the colorings, the most important thing was the babies were healthy.
Florence, the mother, said it took a while to process the event. “I imagine sitting at a playground where the other mothers will call me crazy when I tell them the boys are twins,” she said.
The brothers are already revealing opposing personalities. Ryan is more spirited and Leo is more laid back.
Coincidentally, the 2008 International Congress of Genetics is being held in Berlin this week. Head of the conference, Dr. Rudi Balling said that different colored twins was very unusual, “But it is definitely possible, because ultimately the genes of both parents are combined.”
The twins were reportedly born on July 11, but were kept from the public until press could be invited to see them.
