PICTURED: Devastated couple who lost their unborn baby after being told they couldn't travel to a hospital in Queensland because of border restrictions - as their heartbroken family share their pain

The family of a mother who lost her unborn baby girl after she was forced to travel 750km for an urgent operation because of Queensland's border restrictions has broken their silence.

Kimberley Brown and her husband Scott, from Ballina, in northern New South Wales, were told on August 12 that their twins had developed twin to twin transfusion syndrome .

The disorder occurs in pregnancies where the twins share a placenta and the blood is unevenly distributed, leading to malnourishment and organ failure for one donor twin.  

Mrs Brown needed urgent surgery but despite living just two hours away from Queensland's Mater Hospital doctors told her she would need to apply for a border exemption, which could take too long.

Instead the couple waited 16 hours for an emergency flight to Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Yesterday, Mrs Brown learned after an ultrasound that she had lost one of the babies.

Mrs Brown's father Alan Watt said the ordeal was extremely distressing for the family.

Kimberley Brown and her husband Scott, from Ballina, in northern NSW, learned that they had lost their unborn baby after being forced to travel 750kms because of Queensland's border restrictions  

The couple were forced to get an emergency flight from Lismore to Sydney despite living just two hours from a hospital in Queensland 

Mrs Brown's father Alan Watt said the ordeal was extremely distressing for the devastated family

TIMELINE OF EVENTS 

August 8 - Queensland shuts borders to NSW

August 12 -Kimberley Brown and her husband Scott are told their twins have developed rare disorder and that one of the babies' lives was at stake.

August 13 - Mater Hospital tell Ms Brown she will have to apply for a border exemption so they decide to travel to Sydney. They wait 16 hours for a flight.

August 14 - Medics perform laser surgery on Ms Watt.

August 27 - Ms Brown discovers she has lost one of the babies following an ultrasound.  

'I am just really upset - I don't know what to say. I am really upset this has gone as far as it had,' Mr Watt told Seven News. 

'We don't blame anyone for what happened. It is just one of those things that happen.

'We just hope the other unborn makes it through to a happy ending.' 

Mr Watt said the family understands the outcome for the couple may have been the same if they were able to go to Queensland for medical assistance.

However he says that more time could have given the unborn twins an extra chance they needed. 

Wayne Jones, chief executive of the Northern NSW Local Health District, told Nine News that the 'preferred location for the family to give birth was at a hospital in Brisbane.'

'But under the Queensland Border Direction at the time, the woman and her husband would have had to quarantine at a government hotel for 14 days at their own expense prior to the procedure,' he said. 

Queensland Health told Seven News that the couple would have been granted access to medical treatment in the state.

They claim that no exemption or request for transfer was applied for on their behalf. 

MrsBrown's father said the ordeal had been extremely distressing for the family (picture is Scott Brown and Kimberley Watt)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the case 'terribly heartbreaking' and 'distressing'.

He issued a fresh appeal for states to open their borders on Friday and said Australia faced 'economic ruin' if the restrictions continue. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said last week the decision about who to let into Queensland would be made by health professionals, not politicians.

'People living in NSW have NSW hospitals. In Queensland, we have Queensland hospitals for our people,' she said.

On Friday she said that anyone who needs urgent medical care, and Queensland is deemed the best place for it, won't be turned away.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said not a single person who applied for a medical exemption had been turned away.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison Mr and Mrs Brown's ordeal 'terribly heartbreaking' and 'distressing'

'But for those people wanting to come to Queensland for the first time for care, I am questioning — I am not denying, but I am questioning — why can't you get this care in New South Wales?' she during a press conference on Friday.

'New South Wales has got very, very good hospitals and healthcare.

'I actually genuinely believe, and we do this in Queensland, that whenever possible you should get care close to where you live.

'You shouldn't be travelling for hours to get care.' 

WHAT IS TWIN TO TWIN TRANSFUSION SYNDROME 

Twin to twin transfusion syndrome is a condition that affects approximately 10 per cent (one in ten) of identical twins that share a single placenta. 

Blood vessels that connect the two umbilical cords on the surface of the placenta allow blood from one twin (the donor) to flow into the other twin (the recipient).  

It results in the fetuses growing at different rates and if left untreated it can result in the death or permanent disability for one of the babies.  

*source SSMHealth