Medical Team - Make A Wish

Medical Team

Find out more about your role in the Wish Journey as a medical practitioner.

What role do medical practitioners play in the wish journey?

Referring wish children to Make-A-Wish NZ so they can receive a wish.
Completing the medical eligibility form so we can determine if the child is eligible to receive a wish.
Sometimes completing forms relevant to a child’s wish – e.g. granting clearance to children with travel wishes.

Medical Eligibility

As a medical practitioner, we will need you to complete a medical eligibility form to determine if your patient is eligible to receive a wish.

Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children who are living with a critical illness. Critical illnesses include, but are not restricted to:

Childhood cancers
Certain types of muscular dystrophy
Certain neurological or genetic diseases
Cardiac disorders
Renal failure

Read more about our criteria HERE.

Any questions? Please get in touch with Laurie, our Medical Outreach Specialist.

How does my patient apply?

01

Wish Request

The Wish Application Form must be completed and signed by a parent or legal guardian of the child. They can apply online her.

Apply for a Wish

02

Medical Eligibility (Your role)

Make-A-Wish NZ will contact you as the child’s medical specialist and will ask to receive in writing confirmation that the child is medically eligible to receive a wish and is appropriately able to participate in a wish.

03

The Wish

Once you have confirmed that the child is eligible, Make-A-Wish NZ assigns two wish granters (volunteers) for the wish. They arrange to meet the child to determine what the one true wish will be. Some children know exactly what they want, others can take more than one visit before the wish is decided.

04

Granting the Wish

Once the wish has been confirmed, the Make-A-Wish NZ team sets out to create a magical experience for the child. The time can vary before the wish takes place, depending on what it is and the health of the child. Every effort is made to include the immediate family in the child's wish.

Make-A-Wish represents so much beyond the beauty of a no-strings-attached gift. It becomes a therapy in itself giving hope for a better day. More than that, it’s something the child has control over. In their world, where so much is taken out of their hands, Make-A-Wish remains their chance to choose, to plan and to dream – often only things the child themselves would think of.

Dr Tim Prestidge, Paediatric Haematology-Oncology, Starship Child Health

© 2024 Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Zealand | Charities Registration Number: CC24625