US expert flying in to see Charlie ‘excellent news’, say his parents
THE parents of Charlie Gard yesterday welcomed as “excellent news” a decision by the High Court to allow a US neurosurgeon to assess their son.
After another tense day in court, Mr Justice Francis ruled that Connie Yates could attend a meeting with medical experts discussing her son’s condition.
Lawyers for the hospital, Charlie’s guardian and his family had argued in court about excluding his parents to allow the specialists to have a “full and open” discussion.
Charlie, who suffers from mitochondrial depletion syndrome, is being cared for at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which wants to withdraw his life support so he can “die in dignity”.
Professor Michio Hirano, who is flying in from Colombia Medical School in New York, has offered some hope to Charlie’s parents that the 11-month-old might respond to an experimental treatment he has developed for children with the condition.
In a statement on behalf of the family, Alasdair Seton-marsden, the parents’ spokesman, said: “We are delighted that Charlie’s mother, Connie, will now be present at the meeting with Prof Michio Hirano, the world’s leading expert in Charlie’s condition.”