Do British Understand Importance of Medical Research?

The efforts of British medical personnel to prevent Charlie Gard from  receiving experimental treatment implies they don't understand how important participating in medical research is.  All medical treatments begin as experiments.   Someone had to be the first to be treated for rabies.   Someone had to be the first to receive a heart transplant.   Sixty years ago my grandfather had experimental treatment for skin cancer on his face that didn't work as expected because, according to my dad, The doctor applied the radiation for too long.  Decades later doctors used the knowledge they gained from treating my grandfather and others to successfully treat my father and his brother as well as myself  for facial skin cancers.

Sometimes treatment developed for one malady can be used to treat another.  American entertainer Jerry Lewis helped raise millions to develop treatments for muscular dystrophy.  Doctor used one of those treatments to save Lewis from a potentially fatal heart problem.

We cannot tell in advance if Charlie Gard will benefit from experimental treatment.   If he does not his parents will know that their son's life served a purpose because  knowledge gained from treating  their son will eventually benefit the lives of other children just like knowledge from efforts to treat my grandfather's skin cancer benefited his sons and grandson.