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British Girl Declines Heart Transplant

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The Associated Press

Published: November 12, 2008

LONDON - A 13-year-old British girl who has undergone nearly a dozen surgeries in her young life has refused a heart transplant operation - a decision that may ultimately lead to her death.

Hannah Jones, who was diagnosed with leukemia and later a heart condition, told her parents and medical authorities that she would rather spend her remaining time at home than in the hospital. Health authorities have ceded to the decision after interviewing the girl.

"I've been in hospital too much - I've had too much trauma," Hannah Jones told Sky News on Tuesday. "I don't want this, and it's my choice not to have it."

Hannah was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 4 years old. Chemotherapy put her into remission but doctors then discovered she had cardiomyopathy, a serious disease where the heart muscle becomes swollen and sometimes fails.

The girl's story surfaced when parents complained about hospital officials who sent a social worker to interview the girl about her choice.
Heart transplants are risky operations on any patient.

"I just decided there were too many risks, and even if I took it, there might be a bad outcome," Hannah said. "There is a chance that I may be OK, and there's a chance that I may not be as well as I could be, but I'm willing to take that chance."

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