Health NZ seeks guardianship of baby in blood case

Health authorities are seeking temporary guardianship of a baby whose parents won’t allow him to receive blood from donors who have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

The matter was heard in the High Court at Auckland yesterday where Justice Layne Harvey set a hearing date of December 6. Discussions between the parents and Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand will continue in the meantime.

The health authority is seeking to take temporary guardianship of the 4-month-old boy, who requires heart surgery, in order to authorise the use of vaccinated donors’ blood.

The parents had said they were ‘‘extremely concerned’’ that blood donated by people who had received the Covid-19 vaccine would adversely affect their child.

The couple said they had their own donors lined up whom they had ‘‘screened’’, but doctors insisted on using blood from the NZ Blood Service.

Dr Mike Shepherd, Te Whatu Ora’s Auckland interim director, said ahead of the hearing that the agency was seeking guardianship ‘‘with the best interests of the child in mind’’. Te Whatu Ora’s lawyer Paul White said it was urgent to have the matter heard as soon as possible, as ‘‘with every heartbeat it is potentially causing further damage to [the boy’s] heart’’.

Sue Grey, the lawyer for the couple, said the parents wanted ‘‘better medical care than the state offers’’, and the doctors didn’t look at the merits of her clients’ suggestion to use blood from unvaccinated people whom the couple had already screened.

The baby’s mother, who sat with the boy in the courtroom as the case was heard, said afterwards that she was doing this because she had a responsibility to ‘‘do the best for my baby’’. ‘‘We won’t stand down ... It doesn’t only affect [my baby], it affects everyone.’’

According to the NZ Blood website, any Covid-19 vaccine in the blood is broken down soon after the injection. ‘‘All donated blood also gets filtered during processing, so any trace amounts that may still be present poses no risk to recipients.’’ There was no evidence that previous vaccination affected the quality of blood for transfusion.

‘‘We know that it can be worrying when parents have a child who is unwell, and are making decisions about their care,’’ Shepherd said. ‘‘The decision to make an application to the court is always made with the best interests of the child in mind, and following extensive conversations with wha¯nau.’’ He would not comment further while the matter was before the courts.

‘‘We won’t stand down . . . It doesn’t only affect [my baby], it affects everyone.’’ Boy’s mother