Jehovah's Witnesses say a 2-year-old girl will still be "a very beloved member of the family" even if doctors give her a life-saving blood transfusion which her parents believe is banned by the Bible.
A High Court judge has placed the girl under the guardianship of the court for six months so doctors at Auckland's Starship hospital can override her parents' objections to giving her blood transfusions to support liver and kidney transplants.
All details identifying the girl, referred to as "M", are suppressed.
The Auckland District Health Board, which sought the court order, said the parents had also asked it not to release any details of the girl's condition. The court judgment, issued on June 27, said that "without a liver and kidney transplant M will most likely die from infection within weeks to a couple of months".
Her kidneys and spleen have been removed because of a rare congenital disease. She is being kept alive by renal dialysis, and doctors told the court there was only "a small window of opportunity" for a transplant before her condition deteriorated too far.
