Teenager chooses death over transplant
Ethics clash

BY 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 said. "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.

Capable to decide?

Dr. Tony Calland, who heads the British Medical Association’s medical ethics committee, told BBC radio that a 13-year-old such as Hannah, supported by her parents, should be "perfectly capable” of making such a decision.

"Decisions to refuse life-prolonging treatment are always extremely difficult and emotive,” he said. "What is paramount is that decisions are made in the best interests of the patient.”

Dr. John Jenkins, chairman of Britain’s General Medical Council standards and ethics committee, said children who have lengthy illnesses become "experts in their own condition quite early in life.”

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