Duchenne treatment issue should be decided through professional debate, not protests, State Minister Mdinaradze

Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze has said decisions regarding treatment for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy should be based on professional discussion rather than protests or public pressure campaigns.

Responding to a journalist’s question about children affected by the disease, Mdinaradze described the issue as “extremely sensitive” and said public officials needed to speak carefully about the matter.

He acknowledged that he did not possess specialised expertise on the medical aspects of the issue, but noted that the debate involved complex ethical, medical and practical considerations.

Mdinaradze referred to reports that a relevant medication had recently received approval in the United Kingdom, while claiming that technical implementation details were still being discussed there.

He questioned how quickly such treatment could realistically be introduced in Georgia and raised concerns about what he described as the experimental nature of the medication.

The vice prime minister also said parents naturally seek every possible chance to help their children, adding that the emotional dimension of the issue made decision-making particularly difficult.

“This is a topic that should be resolved not through protests, not through encouraging already distressed parents and not through PR campaigns, but through professional discussion,” Mdinaradze said.