Charlie Gard Update: US Hospital Offers Experimental Drug To Treat Terminally-Ill Baby In London

A U.S. hospital has offered to send an experimental drug to the U.K. to help treat Charlie Gard, a 11-month-old, terminally-ill baby suffering from a rare genetic disorder, the BBC reported.

The hospital, the identity of which has been withheld for legal reasons, has asked authorities to deal with the “legal hurdles,” so their medical experts could examine and evaluate Charlie’s condition for the experimental treatment.

Read: Who Is Charlie Gard? Trump Offers Help To Terminally Ill 10-Month Old Set To Die

According to the BBC, the hospital “agreed to admit and evaluate Charlie, provided that arrangements are made to safely transfer him to our facility, legal hurdles are cleared, and we receive emergency approval from the FDA for an experimental treatment as appropriate".

And if that does not work out, it also added, "Alternatively, if approved by the FDA, we will arrange shipment of the experimental drug to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and advise their medical staff on administering it if they are willing to do so."

Charlie is suffering from mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS), which is known to have affected only 16 children in the world till date. He has been admitted at the GOSH and is receiving treatment for a long time now. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates from Bedfont, Middlesex, U.K., have initiated campaigns and fundraising events to keep him alive on life support system for the last eight months.

While Charlie’s parents have expressed their desire to take him to the U.S. for treatment, the GOSH authorities have been skeptical about it. The doctors at GOSH say Charlie’s life support system should be switched off as his condition was worsening by the day and there was no chance of improvement, the Guardian reported.

Read: Baby Charlie Gard Latest News: What's Next For Terminally Ill 11-Month Old Set To Die?

A legal battle followed and the matter reached the European Court of Human Rights, where the final verdict was ruled in the hospital’s favor. Charlie’s case received international attention when President Donald Trump and Pope Francis offered their help in his treatment.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Thursday offered to issue a Vatican passport to Charlie so he could overcome legal hurdles and receive treatment at a Vatican hospital. “It would be unprecedented if citizenship was granted to Charlie, but it is being investigated. Legal parameters are preventing him from being moved and treated overseas. If that can be overcome, then so be it,” a source close to the pope said, the Sun reported.