SINGAPORE -- Prayers and memorial services have been held for conjoined Iranian twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani who died during an unprecedented operation to separate them.
In Singapore, where the operation took place, stunned members of the Iranian community gathered with other friends at a Muslim school Wednesday for a ceremony to mourn the 29-year-old sisters.
The bodies to Ladan and Laleh are expected to be flown to Tehran in separate caskets later this week. Funeral arrangements are unknown.
Both of the sisters lost too much blood during the final cut to separate them at Raffles Hospital Tuesday, causing their circulation systems to fail.
Medical staff say they were faced with a dilemma of continuing with surgery or trying to stabilize them and transferring them to intensive care which carried a risk of infection.
Hospital chairman Dr. Loo Choon Yong said that after consulting again the twins' friends, they had been assured that their wish was "to be separated under all circumstances."
The operation, which began Sunday, was a landmark procedure. Although Singapore doctors performed a similar operation in 2001 on infant Nepalese girls, surgery on adult twins is unprecedented.
There has been widespread grief in Iran.
On Tuesday Iranian President Mohammad Khatami sent a message to the nation praying for the souls of the twins to rest in peace and praising their courage.
"I am quite sure that millions of hearts here in Iran and abroad who had been keeping vigil ... were hoping for nothing but an easier and more enjoyable life for Laleh and Ladan," IRNA the state run news agency quoted him as saying.
The story of "our dearest Laleh and Ladan fills one sheet of the great book of destiny," the president said, adding that the twins had left the world a legacy of patience and tolerance.
Tributes to the twins have also been paid around the world, praising their bravery and the efforts of the international team of surgeons to give them the separate lives they both wanted.
In the 24 hours since their deaths were announced, more than 7,000 e-mails were sent to CNN.com mourning the loss of the twins. (Your say)
Newspaper editorials have also offered tributes, commenting on the courage of the twins who knew the chances of surviving surgery were only 50 percent.
In its editorial, The Times of London praised what it called the rare spirits of two women born disadvantaged, but who "refused to act that way."
"The Bijani sisters demanded a chance not just to live, but also to be individuals, and eventually to be alone," the paper said.
"Even at their most terrified, heading into the operating room, the Bijani twins smiled. Doing so, they redefined dignity."
