Badly Deformed Baby Denied Entry to New Zealand May Have Surgery in Australia

A badly deformed Samoan baby, dubbed "Baby Miracle" and denied entry into New Zealand for treatment, may be allowed surgery in Australia, the Australian news agency AAP reports.

When Miracletina Nanai was born in a Samoan village about four months ago, doctors told her parents not to feed her because she wouldn't live. But the child, whose facial deformities include a badly misshapen nose and mouth and wide-set eyes, was smuggled food and survived against all odds.

Supporters raised $90,500 to bring the girl to New Zealand for surgery, however late last month authorities rejected her visa application, saying there was little hope she would survive.

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Now, the South Pacific Islands Community Christian Church in Adelaide, Australia says it plans to bring the girl to Australia for treatment.

The church's pastor Mireta Blackmore-Ma'ilo Saipele has approached medical staff at the Australian Craniofacial Unit to see if they could help and was told X-rays and the photographs of the baby were needed, which she is trying to obtain.