Blood donor battle: Baby to receive transfusion
Judge rules in favour of Te Whatu Ora, court takes guardianship
Ababy who urgently needs heart surgery has been placed under guardianship of the High Court until completion of his surgery and postoperative recovery.
The court delivered its ruling last night in the landmark case of a gravely ill baby needing a blood transfusion as part of lifesaving surgery.
The potentially precedent-setting decision is expected to have wide ramifications and draw a strong reaction in the anti-vaccine movement, where the case became a causecelebre for those opposed to the vaccine.
Te Whatu Ora asked the High Court to take over guardianship of the baby, whose operation had been delayed because his parents did not want doctors to use blood from anyone who had the Covid-19 vaccine.
The 4-month-old urgently needs open heart surgery, which is likely to require a blood transfusion.
The doctors and parents have not been able to agree, so Te Whatu Ora applied to the court under the Care of Children Act, asking that the doctors have temporary guardianship of the baby for his medical care only.
Justice Ian Gault delivered his ruling on the contentious case after a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, where Health NZ and Sue Grey, representing the parents, locked horns in the High Court at Auckland as anti-vax protesters gathered outside.
Justice Gault ordered the baby, who has automatic suppression, to be placed under the guardianship of the court “from the date of the order until completion of his surgery and postoperative recovery to address obstruction to the outflow tract of his right ventricle and at latest until 31 January 2023”.
His ruling said the baby’s parents remain his legal guardians aside from the medical matters covered in the order.
The baby has a heart valve disorder requiring urgent surgery. Medical experts have said he would normally have been treated long ago and the pressure is building up behind his heart.
“His survival is actually dependent on the application being granted,” White said.
About a decade ago, there were two cases where the courts granted temporary guardianship of Kiwi Jehovah’s Witness children so they could receive critical medical care.
“What we have is loving parents . . . with beliefs that contrast with the medical profession’s views based on science,” White said.
A request by the family’s lawyer to force the NZ Blood service to take blood from an unvaccinated donor of their choosing for the surgery was declined.
The service does not make a distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated donors and has said there is no extra risk posed.
A lawyer for the blood service, Adam Ross KC, described the request for that order as exceptional and without precedent.
Ross said it would jeopardise the integrity of the donor service and open the door to ethically and clinically bankrupt requests regarding donor blood.
“It is a concern that an order like this can damage and will damage an excellent blood service,” he said.
Te Whatu Ora told the court on Tuesday that doctors could be ready to operate within 48 hours of getting the go-ahead.