An Italian hospital has extended an offer to provide critical medical care to eight-month-old Indi Gregory, whose parents recently lost a legal battle in the UK to maintain her life-support, according to campaigners.
Indi Gregory, born in February, suffers from mitochondrial disease, a genetic ailment that depletes energy. Medical experts have determined that her condition is terminal, and a British High Court judge recently ruled that doctors could lawfully reduce her treatment.
Indi’s parents, Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, sought to overturn this decision in an appeal but were unsuccessful. They also attempted to involve the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, but their case was not accepted.
Specialised treatment from Italian hospital
The Italian hospital’s offer to provide specialized treatment represents a significant breakthrough, according to the Christian Legal Centre campaign group, which supports Indi’s parents. The statement from the centre noted that “a leading paediatric hospital in Italy has offered specialist treatment.” The Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital in Rome has agreed to accept Indi for treatment, fully funded by the Italian government.
Dean Gregory, Indi’s father, expressed his gratitude and hope for the future, saying, “We have been given a real chance by the Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital for Indi to get the care she needs and to have a longer life. We are amazed and truly grateful to the hospital and the Italian government, which has restored our faith in humanity. We are now begging doctors at the Queen’s Medical Centre and the lawyers representing the trust to work with Indi and us to secure her transfer to Rome.”
However, later in the day, campaigners reported that Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, where Indi is currently being treated, was not cooperating with the possibility of her transfer to Italy for treatment. They claimed that the trust maintained that it was in Indi’s “best interests” to cease life support despite the Italian offer and an impending urgent hearing.
As a result, a private hearing is scheduled in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Tuesday to decide whether Indi’s parents will be granted permission to transfer her to Italy for treatment.
