Disturbing footage: Baby Will medical kidnapping

Does the Bloodbank and Starship feel bad now perhaps for not explaining medical matters on their level and taking a condescending stance that their preference too "impractical" that led to forcible kidnapping, and now, referenced in an Australian shooting?

Holding back on information (I wanna see a pic of the shelf of the Bloodbank so i can visualise the blood products), trying to keep people in the dark about how they come to their decisions or preferences. Not explaining the technical reasons and trying to dumb it down didn't help: I'd sure like to know:

• What blood type is baby Will and also the directed donor?
• How much blood would be needed from the direct donor or donor's?
• How long would processing this blood take?
• Does this operation indicate a requirement for HLA compatible blood?
• If the directed donor is "too old" how old are the donors for blood given to babies normally?
• Why do they care if the direct donor "lies on the screener form"?
• Why do they think he/she would lie about if they have CitoMegaloVirus CMV?
• Is it not possible that the directed donor maybe an ideal donor? How are they sub-standard?
• What quantities of what products are required? Red cells, platelets, plasma etc.
• Is it feasible for a directed donor to provide this, or would this normally come from 2 to 3 people?
• How does the genetic relationships affect matters? It seems that un-related blood may not require such a high level of irradiation, so how is it that the blood of a stranger is less likely to cause "graft versus host" or ta-GVHD and thus death? Surely it also has lymphocytes or do they get taken out by the host rather more quickly? Or do they get irradiated also?

I admit it would be a major pain in the ass to try to organise these transfusion products like that.

But is this "pain in the ass" worth it so the parents don't have to have the police terrorise them?

I don't accept this irrational fear that it would set a precedent and cause others to ask for unvaccinated blood. I visited AKL hospitcal recently (to try and save on GP fee's...) and they didn't seem keen to provide my results, I'm sure when I call up / email them, they will send me mine, find out soon.

It seems reasonable to assume unvaccinated blood would be safer as it has been used for 100 years but the vaccine is new

While I understand a kind of medical kidnapping called medical guardianship maybe standard procedure and nothing new in the democratic dictatorship of NZ, taking a baby from it's parents forcibly because you are unable to explain the variables at play is a weak and lazy approach and a horrific conspiracy to be involved with. Police were called in by the hospital after the baby's parents prevented doctors from taking blood from him for testing (which does sound pretty dumb to be honest but it's besides the point somehow), or performing a chest X-ray or an anesthetic assessment,says RNZ.

Overall, a pretty shocking abuse of power.

Baby Will's parents had ask the blood service take a donation from a person chosen by the family, but the agency refused (why?) as the bloodbank said it does not make a distinction between vaccinated and un-vaccinated donors. But it can and does sometimes handle directed donation, so why the brutality and psychological torture?

Exactly how difficult would that be?

When Dr Kirsten Finucane says it would be impractical to use their donors blood how so?
Is she lazy, under-resourced, evil, or dis-empowered by poor InfoTech solutions to allow their blood donor preference?
Does it require too much  blood, or take too much time? 'Splain yourself!
Did they think their actions would end up with the police kidnapping Baby Will like that? Is that a better outcome overall in hindsight?

Or is it more to do with medicine and timing?

In all this we never hear of why Starship/Bloodbank can not do this, because actually they can according to Dr Jim Faed. My theory is that it is due perhaps to their perceived risk of Transfusion Associated-Graft Versus Host Disease

TA-GVHD, is a rare complication (fewer than one per million transfusions), that has a fatality rate greater than 90%. Patients at particular risk of TA-GVHD include:

• Fetal and neonatal recipients of intrauterine transfusions
• Selected immunocompromised recipients
• Recipients of cellular components known to be from a blood relative
• Recipients who have undergone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation
• Recipients of cellular components whose donor is selected for HLA compatibility

HLA matching is used to match patients and donors for blood or marrow transplants. If 2 people share the same HLA type, they are considered a 'match'. It's much more complicated than blood typing.

Is blood for Baby Will's operation needing to be HLA matched?

According to this page HLA matching is used for whole blood and bone marrow transplants. Not sure if this operation needs whole blood, so if not it probably doesn't need HLA matched blood. But whatever the operation needs it could be any of:

• Red cells - how much?
• Platelets - how much?
• Frozen Plasma, probably Leucocyte Depleted type - how much?
• Cryoprecipitate - how much?
• other components - how much?

I'm trying to figure out how time consuming it is to prepare all this from 2 or 3 donors.

A component for transfusion (I'm guessing only red cells, platelets or plasma?) prepared from either whole blood or from plasma is collected by apheresis and frozen within 8 hours to -25°c. The storage temperature is maintained during transport. Unless for immediate use, the packs must be transferred at once to storage at the recommended temperature. Once thawed the component must be stored at 2 to 6°C and used within 24 hours. It must not be refrozen.

Would Baby Will need Cryoprecipitate? It is made from plasma, and is thawed using a two-stage process. Stage one is an overnight thaw at -5°C and stage two is an overnight thaw between 2 - 6°C. After thawing, the component is re-centrifuged using a hard spin at 2 - 6°C. The supernatant cryoprecipitate-poor plasma is then partially removed. The sedimented cryoprecipitate is then rapidly frozen. -Need any of that do you reckon Keen to know is all.

I don't think Baby Will's operation requires any fractionated product, I'm about to ask my Dad, but if it did maybe that would be one of:

• RhD immunoglobulin
• Prothrombinex VF
• IVIg
• Albumex 4
• Albumex 20
• Hep. B immunoglobulin
• other?

No Idea How Much Effort
No idea how long it takes to produce any of the stuff above. Also is their donor suitable and able to provide enough volume of blood in time?

Shouldn't the judge have ordered the Bloodbank and Starship hospital to use the blood from Baby Will's parents donor? Instead of using police force?

If they want to do the operation so badly, maybe using the directed donor not so bad? It does sound somewhat time-consuming to make... but ordering the forcible removal of the baby and the use of random blood?

Isn't this a lazy waste of blood?

Using Baby Will's directed donor might mean somebody else can benefit from the same blood.

Forcibly taking a child from it's parents should only be done in the most extreme of situations; instead the judge could have compelled the parents to allow the operation, or compel Starship to comply with the directed donation.

What happened was an international disgrace. It's is such a pity that NZ Judge's have such scant concern for human rights.

Haematologist and transfusion medicine specialist Dr Jim Faed says direct donation of blood from people who aren't vaccinated could be done but is difficult due to:

• He implies Baby Will's donors would lie on their screening form
• Hints at the amount of time and effort required to process directed donor blood
• Says it's possible but unusual practice and it's safest to use volunteer blood
• Fear of TA-GVHD

1. 1.

   not adapted for use or action; not sensible or realistic.

   "impractical high heels"