Petition for the release of Charlie Gard and his immediate transfer to the US

What do we want?

We the undersigned call on the UK Prime Minister to help release Charlie Gard from the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital so that he can undergo treatment in another hospital of his family’s choosing.

On April 11th 2017 a high court judge ruled that Charlie’s parents be stripped of their parental rights and Charlie be refused all treatment.

Charlie’s parents are running out of time with their baby, we feel strongly that Charlie should have a chance to live. He literally has nothing to lose but potentially a healthier, happier life to gain.

With the help of over 200 thousand people from all over the world, Charlie’s parents have managed to raise over £1.3m so that their son can benefit from treatment.

Why do we want it?

Charlie Gard was born perfectly healthy on the 4th August 2016. He was admitted to hospital at 8 weeks old and was diagnosed with a devastating disease called Mitochondrial Depletion Syndrome.

Charlie’s condition is caused by disruption in the mitochondria, the part of the cell that provides energy to his muscles, kidneys and brain.

After seemingly endless research and speaking to doctors all over the world, Charlie’s parents found a doctor in the US who has been treating children with similar types of Mitochondrial Depletion Syndrome using something called Nucleoside Bypass Therapy.

Nucleoside Bypass Therapy could potentially repair Charlie’s mtDNA and help it synthesize again by giving him the naturally occurring compounds that his body isn’t able to produce, it’s a non-harmful, non-invasive oral medication.

Charlie Gard has been accepted by doctors in the US and with funds having been raised we now need permission to remove Charlie Gard from the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital where doctors want to move him on to palliative care.

Charlie’s parents have spent over 3,000 hours at his bedside and know him better than anyone else.

They are absolutely convinced he is not in pain. When he feels their presence, he opens his eyes as much as he can and they do not believe he is blind.

High Court judge Mr Justice Francis ruled that in all ‘likelihood’ Charlie had suffered severe and irreversible brain damage and there was little hope the treatment could achieve ‘anything positive for him. We do not believe that ‘in all likelihood’ is a strong enough reason to sentence Charlie to death.

Charlie’s parents know his sleep/wake cycle and can wake him up by tickling his feet and soothe him to sleep by stroking his head.

If his parents thought there was absolutely no hope they would not be fighting.

We need to change things and show how determined parents can forge a path for other families encountering similar obstacles. We need to find treatments for incurable diseases. We need to give other people hope. We need to start saving lives starting with Charlie Gard.

Have more faith in Connie Yates and Chris Gard and reinstate their Parental Rights, that they rightly deserve. 

PLEASE: consider this as an important matter that needs to be addressed ASAP