Parents accept ‘jabbed’ blood may be used

The parents of the baby at the centre of the ‘‘unjabbed blood’’ case are ‘‘realistic’’ that blood products from vaccinated donors may be needed in the baby’s heart surgery, their lawyer says.

But they insist that ‘‘the bulk’’ of the blood be unvaccinated, according to Sue Grey.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand wants the courts to take temporary custody of the four-month-old so he can have open-heart surgery using NZ Blood Service blood – which may have come from Covid-vaccinated donors.

A full hearing will be on Tuesday in the High Court at Auckland.

The parents are concerned blood donated from this source could be ‘‘tainted’’, though experts say it is perfectly safe.

They claim to have more than 20 suitable donors but say NZ Blood won’t use them. Grey said blood plasma may be needed for the open-heart surgery and, because that went to Australia for processing, using the family’s donors would take too long.

‘‘They’re not happy to use any vaxxed blood, but I think they’re realistic. If the bulk of the blood could come from an unvaccinated source, that would remove an identified risk.’’

Grey said the family’s donors had the O-type blood required, met NZ Blood criteria and had given blood before, some regularly.

Since the case became public, she’d been ‘‘flooded’’ with offers of more unvaxxed blood, she said.

Grey said she and the parents met with surgeons and the CEO of NZ Blood on Wednesday, and they were refusing to budge, though the organisation’s website said it sometimes allowed direct donors.

‘‘They can do it, but they don’t want to . . . I think they’re afraid of a precedent effect.’’

Grey said the family had looked into whether NZ Blood could be cut out, with the hospital dealing directly with the family’s donors. She understood going through NZ Blood was best practice but had heard of overseas cases with opportunities for ‘‘other routes’’.

Grey said the mother was finding it ‘‘incredibly difficult’’ but coping.

‘‘. . . she’s a midwife, she’s a very experienced, calm person who understands the issues.’’

Have we seen something like this before?

The case is similar to those involving Jehovah’s Witness families, who object to receiving donated blood because of religious beliefs, said Peter Le Cren, Auckland barrister and former Auckland District Health Board medico-legal counsel.

One or two such cases came up every year, he said. Health care providers working to save a child’s life or prevent permanent injury can give a blood transfusion without parental consent under Section 37 or the Care of Children Act – but it doesn’t cover the heart surgery case.

‘‘It’s not like you’ve got a child turning up at the emergency department bleeding out . . . You’re going to do something to the child that will then generate the need for blood products.’’

Is blood from vaccinated donors safe?

Otago University immunologist, associateprofessor James Ussher, says if any Pfizer vaccine made it into the blood, it would be very short-lived.

Asked if is there any scientific reason blood from a Covid-19 vaccinated person would present a greater risk than blood from an unvaccinated person, Ussher said: ‘‘No’’.

Otago University professor of children’s and women’s health, Peter McIntyre, agrees there is ‘‘zero evidence’’.

What’s directed donation, and why can’t these parents do it?

If you’re in a car crash and need a transfusion, you can’t choose whose blood you get from the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS).

For planned surgery, there’s a precedent for patients demanding blood from specified donors, or ‘‘directed donation’’.

NZBS says this hasn’t happened through its service in the past five years. NZBS’s website makes it clear it opposes people choosing donor.