St George's University Hospital has launched it's first-ever Twins Trust centre, which will be based at St George's Fetal Medicine Unit.

The hospital has partnered with National charity, Twins Trust, to carry out new research, provide support and education into multiple births across the UK.

The centre will be home to the first-ever registry of cases of 'Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome' ( TTTS) and a specialist multiple pregnancy research study coordinator, who looks after the registry and liaises with parents.

The research study coordinator also trains midwives throughout the country to manage and upload their own cases.

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The registry provides a deeper insight into the knowledge and understanding of TTTS, which can be a devastating condition which could lead to the loss of one or more babies.

Twins Trust will be working with Professor Asma Khalil, Consultant Obstetrician and Multiple Birth Lead at St George’s and her team to carry out the vital research.

Professor Asma Khalil said: “We’re delighted that Twins Trust has chosen to partner with St George’s Fetal Medicine Unit.

"It reflects the successes and achievements of our team so far, and our commitment to making the UK one of the best and safest places for multiple births.

“The centre will develop a national education programme for health professionals to share learning, and design new research studies to improve the outcomes of multiple pregnancies and save lives.”

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Twins Trust CEO Keith Reed said: “We’ve always had great links with the team at St George’s and the remarkable results they have had in reducing stillbirths and better outcomes all round from multiple births shows what can be achieved when following the NICE multiple birth clinical guidance.

“The research undertaken will allow us to input into national policy initiatives to ensure the care needs of families expecting twins, triplets or more are taken into account.

“We expect the centre will become a beacon for research and our plan is to publish three papers each year.

“We will be looking for funding to start this research later in the year.”