American doctor set to visit Charlie Gard

An American specialist will travel to London this week to examine 11-month-old Charlie Gard and talk with the British doctors treating him. Dr. Michio Hirano, a professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, will meet with the doctors and Charlie’s mother during the next two days at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. The visit is the latest stage in the court battle Chris Gard and Connie Yates have waged for months in an attempt to take their critically ill son to the United States for an experimental treatment. Charlie suffers from mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disease that left him unable to breathe unaided. Hirano last week told a British judge his experimental treatment could give Charlie a 56 percent chance of “meaningful improvement.” After examining Charlie, Hirano will present his findings to the U.K. High Court.