A 15-year-old girl has received a heart transplant against her wishes in an English hospital. The girl, who cannot be named, developed congestive heart failure in May. She was admitted to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, and when her condition worsened she was told her prognosis and advised to have a transplant. She remained adamantly opposed to the procedure despite pressure from her parents, doctors, nurses and clergy. However, because she is a child her consent is not needed under British law.
On July 9 her doctors applied to the High Court for permission to proceed with a transplant. The judge who heard the case, who specializes in family law, arranged for a lawyer to represent the girl. The girl told the lawyer: "I understand what a heart transplant means - checkups and pills. I am only 15 and don't want a transplant. I am not happy with it. I feel selfish. If I die, my family will be sad. If I had children and were old enough, I would go along with whatever is best, with what they want. If I had someone else's heart, I would feel different from anybody else [and] that's a good reason not to have a transplant, even if it saved my life."
The judge ruled that the girl was confused and allowed the operation to proceed. His decision was read out to the girl at her bedside, and she grudgingly agreed to have the operation. She is now making a normal recovery.
Lawyers have hailed the ruling as humane and just, but medical ethicists have reservations. Vivienne Nathanson, head of ethics at the British Medical Association, said medicine is "coercing children," and that children's views about their treatment are accepted only when they agree with doctors' views.