Unvaxxed blood case moot
It’s an agonising position for a parent to be in, and one cannot help but sympathise. Having become convinced the blood of a vaccinated donor might be harmful to her baby, a mother is refusing life-saving surgery for her ailing boy.
But does she have the right to insist she chooses who gives blood to support the open-heart surgery?
Last Wednesday, High Court Justice Layne Harvey met with the mother and representatives from Te Whatu Ora, who want to take custody of the baby and ensure he receives the care he needs. Justice Harvey has set an urgent hearing to debate the issue for this coming Tuesday.
Representing Te Whatu Ora at the preliminary hearing, lawyer Paul White flagged the urgency and said medical professionals have said a child with such a condition would have been treated several weeks ago in normal circumstances.
The family’s lawyer Sue Grey said the case was unusual and different from other medical guardianship cases where parents are often refusing medical care. Instead, she said, the parents want “better care” than what the state is offering.
White said Te Whatu Ora’s application to the court is ultimately based on the best interests of the child and what they view as medically safe.
He said court intervention was required because the two parties have reached what he described as an impasse. Justice Harvey has encouraged the two parties to continue discussions until next Tuesday.
Auckland University’s Immunisation Advisory Centre medical director Professor Nikki Turner told Newstalk ZB that Covid-19 was widespread and that would be reflected in the nation’s blood.
“Almost all blood in New Zealand will have Covid antibodies in it, so unless you’re going to refuse all blood, I can’t imagine how you’ll get around this,” she said.
Therein lies one of the many rubs. A separate supply from donors who claim they haven’t been vaccinated won’t guarantee some sort of added safety, nor be of any less risk than blood taken from the tested and screened general supply.
Another complication is the child is likely to need blood from a paediatric donor, someone who has not been exposed to the cytomegalovirus (CMV), as an infection from CMV for a sick infant may be severe or even fatal. The donor must not only be clear of the virus but also should have O-blood, the universal type that can be given to anyone. In this case, the mother needs these rare criteria — as well as wanting the donor to be unvaccinated.
Another issue is at the nub of the mother’s concern, as blood from vaccinated donors is highly unlikely to carry any trace of the vaccine.
Haematologist and transfusion medicine specialist Dr Jim Faed told Morning Report: “The vaccine would have been cleared. It’s biological material, it’ll be broken down, it doesn’t last very well.”
The New Zealand Blood Service is a world-class regime that reports annually via a national haemovigilance programme on any incidences of concern. The reports are robust, transparent, and reason for high public confidence.
University of Otago bioethics lecturer and research scholar Josephine Johnston said parents should be allowed a great deal of discretion to make decisions for their children, including about medical issues. “But there are limits to that, and this is one of those tragic cases where the limit has life and death consequences.”
In this case, the interests of the baby must take precedence. He needs the operation and has nothing to gain from arguments over a moot point of “vaccinefree” blood.