Father's plea to keep son on life-support in Manchester
Doctors say baby Midrar is neurologically dead
Last updated 22nd Jan 2020
A father has made a passionate plea in court in a battle to prove that his son is still alive and should remain on life support.
Doctors at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester say four month old Midrar Ali is neurologically dead after being starved of oxygen during labour.
A judge must now decide whether his condition meets the definition of death by neurological criteria (DNC).
Complications during Midrar’s birth involved the umbilical cord preceding the baby’s head which subsequently blocked the oxygen supply from the placenta. This resulted in a severe injury to Midrar’s brain.
Doctors say he appeared lifeless on delivery and was given intensive resuscitation but has never breathed on his own without a ventilator. They believe the most dignified next step is to withdraw the life support machine.
Midrar’s mother and father, Shokhan and Karwan Ali, do not believe that their son has suffered brain stem death and are challenging the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust saying they have seen signs of life.
Mr Ali took to the witness stand this morning to express his view that his son is alive and should be allowed to remain on a ventilator. The 35-year-old, who’s a biomedical scientist, directly addressed the judge saying: “It’s not fair. I am asking my lady to give me back my right as a parent.”
Karwan believes Midrar has some neurological function which allows him to react to certain situations. For example, during a minor surgery earlier this year he opened his eyes, sweated and became red in the face.
He claims that the baby’s heart rate rises when he is held by his mother.
It’s also notable that Midrar’s body is still growing, despite his head showing signs of shrinking, and he has now been moved from an incubator to a cot.
Mr Ali said: “I am holding a rope of hope that burns my hand every time I see Midrar. Why is the hospital taking that hope from us?”
“I keep showing the doctors signs of life. As a biologist I have never known a body that could live beyond four months without a working brain.
“Circulation, heartbeat and breathing are all controlled by the brain stem.”
Mr Ali also explained that the family had felt pressure from hospital staff to “get rid” of Midrar.
One doctor giving evidence, who can’t be named because of a reporting restriction, explained that any movements made by Midrar are reflexes and as a result of the periphery nervous system, rather than the central nervous system.
DNC tests have shown on three occasions that the boy has activity in his brain stem and is in a state of “irreversible unconsciousness”.
Another doctor, who was called in as a second opinion from a hospital in Liverpool, noted that Midrar has no purposeful muscle movement, no eye reactions, no gag reflex, no tendon reflexes and no evidence of neurological function.
St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester has one of the largest neonatal intensive care units in the UK and sees 10,000 babies delivered every year.
After hearing all evidence from medical experts and the family - High Court Judge Mrs Justice Lieven must now decide whether she believes Midrar Ali’s condition fits the definition of death by neurological criteria.