Hannah Jones, 13, a terminally ill British Teenager has refused to undergo a life saving heart transplant.  Diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia at the age of 3-years, and later with heart problems, Hannah has spent almost her entire life in and out of hospitals.  Which is why, when she was told that she required a heart transplant that might or might not succeed, she felt she had had enough.

Having already undergone six operations within the last two years, Hannah after hearing the doctors out, says she prefers to go home rather than risk spending the remainder of her precious time, inside a place she intensely dislikes, nor did she want to go through with a high risk or any other operation.
 
Her simple desire to spend her last days at home turned into a protracted legal battle, with the hospital threatening court action if Hannah was not brought back to hospital for treatment.  Herefordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has dropped the High Court case after Hannah appealed to health officials, saying she was aware that she could die, yet she would rather be cared for at home.  She also told them that she did not think a heart transplant operation was in her best interests, as discussions with doctors from Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street in London had led her to conclude that even if it worked, it would be only temporary respite, followed up by constant medication.
 
Hannah’s parents support her decision as they do not want to see her suffer anymore.  Talking to BBC, Andrew Jones, Hannah’s father reveals that just recently he was compelled to cancel a family trip to Disneyland in Florida, USA donated by Cauldwell Children, a US charity, because he could not get insurance coverage for Hannah, due to a weak heart damaged by the drugs she was forced to take for her leukemia, as a child.
 
With barely six months left to live, if the doctors are to be believed, the teenager wants to spend the remainder of her short life at home in Marden near Hereford, enjoying it to the fullest with her parents, brother and two sisters.
 
Sally Stucke, a consultant paediatrician at Herefordshire Primary Care Trust, says it has been ‘an extremely complex case’, however, Hannah had the right to change her mind at any time.  However, Hannah’s courage in the face of adversity has made her a source of inspiration for all, who admire and respect her desire to die with dignity.