US doctor fails to convince medics that experimental treatment could save terminally-ill Charlie Gard
A US doctor yesterday failed to convince Great Ormond Street medics that his experimental treatment offers a lifeline for terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard.
Dr Michio Hirano, 56, met with four consultants and Charlie’s mum Connie, 31.
The New York neuroscientist believes new drugs have a “small but significant” chance of reversing brain damage caused by Charlie’s rare genetic condition. But he was unable to persuade the London hospital’s clinical team who believe it is kinder to turn off 11-month old Charlie’s life support.
A High Court judge will make the final decision on Tuesday.
Mr Justice Francis, who previously ruled Charlie should be allowed to die, reopened the case last week after Dr Hirano came forward with new evidence.
The refusal of the hospital to drop its opposition to Dr Hirano’s three-month trial is a huge blow for Charlie’s parents Connie and Chris from Bedfont, west London.
Dr Hirano was invited to the UK after the UK medics said his views should not be considered until he had seen Charlie himself. He flew in on Monday to examine Charlie and viewed a brain scan with an Italian expert.
Connie said: “Chris and I are so grateful to Dr Hirano and the other clinician for coming to see Charlie.
“As Charlie’s parents we are doing the right thing for our son in exploring all the treatment options.”
Mum Connie Yates, alongside husband Chris Gard, has been pushing to have their son sent to the US for pioneering treatment to treat his rare genetic condition - with the meeting the next step in the couple's fight for Charlie.
Dr Michio Hirano and another international expert were joined by the Great Ormond Street Hospital team currently caring for the tot, as well as an independent chairman.
A spokesman for the couple said the family would not be commenting on the meeting "as this is a judicial matter" and they do not wish to say anything that could potentially harm Charlie's case.
It is understood the tot will face more tests.
On Monday Dr Hirano, a professor of neurology at Columbia University in New York, was given full access to Charlie's medical records and hospital and clinical facilities, including diagnostic images, for four and a half hours.
Great Ormond Street has given Dr Hirano an honorary contract, which the hospital said gives him the same status as its own physicians.
This means he can examine Charlie.
After the fresh round of assessments and today's meeting, litigation is expected to resume next Tuesday.
It was previously reported the 11-month-old's first brain scan in three months left his parents feeling "optimistic".
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Great Ormond Street Hospital specialists say the treatment will not work, and the little boy's life support should be turned off.
His parents, from Bedfont, west London, have already lost battles in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
They also failed to persuade European Court of Human Rights judges to intervene, and recently pleaded with Prime Minister Theresa May to help.
Mr Justice Francis has considered the couple's latest claims at preliminary hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London over the last few days.
He is due to stage further hearings later this month following this week's specialist gathering.
Despite Charlie's US doctor's insistence that he could help the tot, Great Ormond Street Hospital medics say the terminally-ill baby has "no quality of life" and "no real prospect of any quality of life".
Specialists say that despite advances in medical science, there are still some conditions that "we cannot cure and we cannot ameliorate".
Bosses have spelled out doctors' thinking in a statement posted on the hospital website.
"At the heart of Charlie's parlous and terrible condition is the question, how can it be in his best interests for his life-sustaining treatment to be withdrawn?" says the Great Ormond Street statement.
"Charlie has been treated on GOSH's neonatal intensive care unit for many months now and very sadly, the question that arises for him arises for other patients and families at the hospital too.
"GOSH has treated over a thousand patients with mitochondrial disease and offers pioneering treatment, including nucleoside treatment, where appropriate.
"Despite all the advances in medical science made by GOSH and the other hospitals around the world, there remain some conditions that we cannot cure and we cannot ameliorate."
The statement adds: "It has been and remains the unanimous view of all of those caring for Charlie at Great Ormond Street that withdrawal of ventilation and palliative care are all that the hospital can offer him consistent with his welfare.
"That is because in the view of his treating team and all those from whom GOSH obtained second opinions, he has no quality of life and no real prospect of any quality of life."
Charlie Gard's condition and his story so far
Charlie Gard is in the “terminal stages” of a disease called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, after both of his parents were unknowingly carrying the faulty gene.
Sufferers of the condition do not get energy to their muscles, kidneys and brain, and is typically fatal in infancy and early childhood.
The 10-month-old is said to be one of only 16 people to have ever had the condition and his desperate mum and dad have been unable to find a treatment in the UK for him.
They raised £1.3million to send him America for treatment but doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital said Charlie should be allowed to die in dignity and applied for permission to have his ventilator switched off.
The European Court of Human Rights’ ruled the doctors' decision would be upheld and his parents were not allowed to intervene in their child’s case.
The family were given extra time to say goodbye before his life support is turned off.
Now US President Donald Trump and the Pope have offered to help as "Charlie's Army" vocalised their support for him all over the world.
British doctors say their "hands are tied" and they are unable to let the tot fly to Italy, so the Italian foreign minister called for crisis talks with Boris Johnson - who backed the doctors' and courts' decision.
Theresa May also confirmed she supports Great Ormond Street’s decision not to let Charlie fly.
She was set to speak with Trump about the child's fate at the G20 summit in Hamburg, as his followers continue their support.
The Pope declared on July 6 he wanted to give the youngster a Vatican passport to help him travel to an Italian hospital for treatment, before a New York Hospital offered to admit him - and even ship experimental drugs to the UK.