A family and NHS specialists are in an "extremely complex" dispute over whether a transplant is in the best interests of a teenage boy who has kidney disease.
Today a judge will hear evidence at the Court of Protection, sitting in Liverpool, about the care of William Verden, 17.
William, from Lancaster, is at the centre of the treatment dispute between his mum and lawyers representing the Manchester University Children's Hospital.
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Ami McLennan, 45, said a transplant for her son, who is on dialysis and suffers from steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome, is a "feasible option" and has made an appeal for a donor.
But specialists treating William, who has autism, at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital said a transplant isn't in his best interests.
Lawyers representing the hospital's governing trust - the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust - have asked Mrs Justice Arbuthnot to consider the case and make decisions.
Liz Davis, a lawyer based at firm Irwin Mitchell, which represents Ms McLennan, previously said : “This is a really emotive case which has prompted a lot of debate.
“While Ms McLennan and the trust have continued to try and work together to find an agreement, this is an incredibly important and time-pressing issue so the courts are now being asked to make a judgment as to what’s in William’s best interests. ”
Opening the four-day hearing, Helen Mulholland, for the Trust, said: “It is an extremely complex and difficult case with no clear or obvious resolution.
“All the parties acknowledge that the decision to be made by this court is an extremely balanced one – and one which comes with significant risk to William either way.”
She said William’s moderate to severe learning difficulties, also including ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and the “interplay between the physical and mental health needs” presented a “very complex” picture.
The judge has heard the trust opposes kidney transplant because essentially William would require sedation and ventilation for possibly up to six weeks to ensure he complies with the interventions post-operatively and that the prospect of recurrence of the steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome is high, about 80%.
His mother opposes the trust’s application and relies on expert evidence which points more towards a 50% chance of recurrence and that transplant is a feasible option which gives him a reasonable potential for a good long-term outcome.
The trust argues it is “highly questionable” whether such a prospect of successful transplant is enough for the court to determine that transplantation is in William’s best interests.
It adds it is likely he would suffer potentially serious physical and psychological injury through such a process.
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