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Transplant for heart refusal girl | Transplant for heart refusal girl |
(about 6 hours later) | |
A terminally ill girl who refused heart surgery has now had a transplant. | |
Great Ormond Street Hospital in London has confirmed that 14-year-old Hannah Jones, from Marden, near Hereford, is one of its patients. | |
Her mother, Kirsty, said the operation had been completed and doctors believed it had been successful. | |
Hannah, whose heart has been weakened by medication for leukaemia, initially refused a transplant, saying she wanted to die with dignity. | |
The hospital confirmed that she had been admitted but refused to comment further on her case. | |
Hannah is thought to have been transferred to the hospital on Tuesday night. | |
We all hope that the new heart is not rejected, and that Hannah goes on to make a full, and healthy, recovery Kirsty Jones, Hannah's mother | |
Her mother said she was now recuperating in intensive care and was on a ventilator. | |
She said the family remained hopeful that the new organ would not be rejected. | |
She said: ''Hannah was given the new heart and the general consensus is that all is well with it. | |
''She is stable, but is still in intensive care where she has been receiving intravenous medication to aid her recovery from surgery. | |
''We all hope that the new heart is not rejected, and that Hannah goes on to make a full, and healthy, recovery.'' | |
Legal advice | |
Hannah's case made the headlines when Herefordshire Primary Care Trust took legal advice following her decision not to have a heart transplant. | |
The PCT said it was advised that it could not force anyone to have treatment they did not wish to undergo. | |
Hannah's father, Andrew, said at the time that he and his wife supported her decision. | |
He told the BBC he had been phoned by a member of the child protection team at the PCT saying Hannah could be taken from their care if she refused to have the operation. | |
But he said this warning was withdrawn after the child protection officer had spoken to Hannah herself, who confirmed she did not want the surgery. | |
The trust said it could not comment on this claim because of patient confidentiality. | |
It said it was satisfied that Hannah was mature enough to make a decision about not having surgery. | |
Hannah initially said that the operation might not work, and if it did, she would need constant medication. | |
She said she wanted to halt treatment and spend the rest of her life at home. | She said she wanted to halt treatment and spend the rest of her life at home. |