Saudi Arabia funds separation surgery of Filipino conjoined twins

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

HELP FROM RIYADH. Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Manila Faisal Ebraheem Alghamdi (center) receives twins, Klea and Maurice Ann, and their parents ahead of their departure to the Kingdom during the latter’s visit to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the Philippines on Thursday (May 15, 2025). The twins will undergo a separation surgery through the humanitarian assistance of the Saudi government. (Photo courtesy of the Saudi Arabia Embassy in the Philippines via PNA)

MANILA – The Saudi Arabian government is funding the separation surgery of Filipino conjoined twins, Klea and Maurice Ann Misa, its embassy in Manila announced Friday.

The twins are scheduled to depart for Riyadh on May 17, where they will receive specialized medical care at King Abdulaziz Medical City under the Ministry of National Guard.

Their case will be overseen by the medical and surgical team led by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

The Saudi Embassy in the Philippines said this surgery would be fully sponsored under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program, which operates under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

This will be the third Filipino conjoined twins to be treated under the Arab state’s humanitarian program, which the embassy describes as an “emblem of the enduring and robust bilateral ties” between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

“It also underscores the spirit of shared cooperation in health and humanitarian affairs, anchored in the noble values and principles that the Kingdom advocates both regionally and globally,” it said.

Before their departure, the twins and their parents visited the Saudi Embassy in Manila on Thursday and were received by Ambassador Faisal Ebraheem Alghamdi.

The envoy inquired about the twins’ health and wished them a successful surgery. The family, for their part, conveyed gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi Arabian government.

Since 1990, the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program has been facilitating the successful separation of some 146 children from 27 different countries.

In 2024, Filipino conjoined twin sisters Ayeesha and Akhizah Yusoph in Riyadh were successfully separated through a surgical procedure conducted by pediatric surgeon Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah.