A woman and her sister who claim they are "technically twins" despite being born three years apart have said they could give birth to their own siblings if they wanted to.
Michel Janse is three years older than her sister JJ, but they were both conceived in 1996 when their parents went through a round of IVF treatment that produced several viable embryos, the Daily Star reports.
And while Michel was implanted first, her parents decided to keep JJ frozen until 2000 - meaning that while they were born separately, they could refer to themselves as twins as they were conceived at the same time.
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The term "IVF twins" has been used to refer to siblings born in this way for some time, although many argue they are not twins but are instead just siblings because they did not share a uterus at the same time.
In a video on TikTok explaining their situation, Michel and JJ also said that if they wanted to, they could actually give birth to their own siblings - as their mum still has some embryos left over that have been frozen for 25 years.
The sisters stated in the clip, which was posted to Michel's @michel.c.janse account: "We were conceived in 1996. I was implanted first and JJ was frozen for 3 years, born in 2000.
"My parents still have our twins frozen 25 years later ... so if we wanted ... we could use the embryos and birth our own twins."
In the comments, many people were quick to point out that the sisters are not twins because they didn't share a uterus at the same time, so are therefore only siblings.
One person said: "You are siblings! Not twins. Twins = sharing the same uterus. People who have the same parents but did not share uterus = siblings."
While another added: "Nope, you're not twins just because you're from the same retrieval. I had 24 embryos frozen. They're not all twins. Only the two I carried at the same time."
Michel later responded to say she understood that she and JJ aren't "really twins", but said the circumstances of their births are still "pretty cool".
She added: "Okay, I know this isn’t REALLY twins. But we were conceived at the same time, from the same batch of eggs. Still pretty cool!"
Meanwhile, some commenters joked that she and JJ should go ahead with the idea of implanting their mother's embryos "just because they can" - although others noted that the IVF clinic would be unlikely to allow it for ethical reasons.
Someone said: "Do it. I dare you. Just because you can."
As someone else wrote: "I don't think any IVF clinic would allow this, but it's cool to think about!"
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