Tolga Akmen/Getty Images(LONDON) — The day before their case is due to be heard at the High Court in London, the parents of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard said on Sunday that their infant son “deserves a chance” to be taken to the United States for an experimental treatment that could potentially improve his condition.
Flanked by supporters of their cause, Connie Yates and Chris Gard spoke outside London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie has been kept since November.
The parents delivered a petition signed by more than 350,000 supporters urging officials to allow their 11-month-old son to be taken to the United States.
Yates said there are seven doctors who support the trip, saying that there is a 10 percent chance the experimental treatment will work for Charlie. “And we feel that that’s a chance worth taking,” Yates said, adding that they have been fighting for this opportunity since their son arrived at the hospital.
The public appearance by Charlie’s parents precedes a highly anticipated court hearing scheduled for Monday that will determine whether an experimental treatment will indeed be permitted.
The infant boy is battling mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disease that affects the child’s energy production and respiration, according to a report from BBC News.
The disease has caused damage to the boy’s brain and rendered him unable to breathe without assistance, according to the hospital, but Charlie’s parents downplayed the extent of the damage on Sunday.
Gard said there is “no evidence of catastrophic brain damage” in his son, and that the experimental treatment they are seeking can “get into the brain and help” with what harm has occurred.
Great Ormond Street Hospital said in a statement on Friday that while it is seeking the High Court’s opinion about experimental treatment for Charlie, there is worry that it will be ineffective and ultimately prolong his current condition.
“Our doctors have explored every medical treatment, including experimental nucleoside therapies. Independent medical experts agreed with our clinical team that this treatment would be unjustified,” the hospital said.
“Not only that, but they said it would be futile and would prolong Charlie’s suffering. This is not an issue about money or resources, but absolutely about what is right for Charlie,” it added.
The hospital said in June that it did apply for ethical permission to attempt nucleoside therapy on Charlie, but by the time that decision was made, the infant’s condition had worsened. “The view was that his epileptic encephalopathy was such that his brain damage was severe and irreversible that treatment was potentially painful but incapable of achieving anything positive for him,” the hospital said in a statement.
Nucleoside therapy is the experimental treatment available to Charlie in the U.S., but it has yet to be sufficiently tested, according to a BBC News report.
Charlie’s parents have received high-profile support from both Pope Francis and President Trump in their attempt to seek alternative treatments for their son, which has helped to give the case a larger degree of international attention.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.