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Two sisters in UK discovered they were identical twins only after 48 years, when one of them needed a liver transplant.

According to Daily Mail, the sisters Annemarrie Atha and Gerladine Rowing discovered they were identical following tests necessitated by Rowing's failing liver due to cancer. During one of Rowing's consultation with her doctors to zero in on a donor for liver transport, Rowing mentioned that she has a non-identical twin. Her doctors suggested organ compatibility testing only to find the sisters were identical.

The twins' believed they were not identical as their mother mentioned two placentas during their birth. Given that that they do not look identical, the sisters believed their mother.

"We thought the worst was over after Geraldine had survived cancer, so the diagnosis of cirrhosis came as a real shock. I wanted to do anything I could to help her so we talked about liver donation with her Hepatologist, Dr Mervyn Davies. We didn't realise we were genetically identical until Geraldine was placed on the Organ Transplant waiting list. Dr Davies, suggested that we looked similar and that he believed that we would be a match. It was very much to our surprise that 98% of our genes are the same," Atha said in a press release. 

After Ms. Atha's liver proved a perfect match for her sister, the transplant took place earlier this year. The added advantage for Rowing is she can skip immunosuppressant drugs she would have to take if the liver was donated by another person.

The twins are said to be first in UK to undergo liver transplant. Doctors described Rowing's plight as a gift and a massive advantage as taking immunosuppressant drugs could have increased her cancer risk.  

Experts also pointed out that genetically identical twins need not look identical. The existence of two placentas simply means that the fertilized egg divided early on during pregnancy. When division happens later, chances of twins developing in the same placenta increases, they said.