British 14-Year-Old Cryogenically Frozen In Historic Court Ruling

A teenage girl has made history after becoming the first British child to be cryogenically frozen.

The case went to court after the girl begged the judge to allow it to happen after she found out she was dying of cancer. It reached the high court as her mother supported her wishes. However, her father did not.

The parents, who are divorced, entered a legal battle as the dad believed the £37,000 cost and the brutal process of preserving her were too much for his estranged daughter.

While on her death bed, the teen wrote a letter to the judge, which read: "I have been asked to explain why I want this unusual thing done. I am only 14-years-old and I don't want to die but I know I am going to die.

"I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up - even in hundreds of years' time. I don't want to be buried underground.

"I want to live and live longer and I think that in the future they may find a cure for my cancer and wake me up. I want to have this chance. This is my wish."

It's an incredible process, as you can see below, but is something which clearly causes debate.

Credit: Fox 47

The young girl died last month.

High court judge Mr Justice Jackson accepted the girl's wishes. He visited her bedside shortly before her death on October 17. Speaking of the meeting, he said: "She died peacefully in the knowledge her body would be preserved in the way she wished."

Now, her body has been sent over to America as Britain does not have a specific lab for the process. Her body has been 'chilled' over the last few weeks in liquid nitrogen.

According to the Mirror, the girl had been estranged from her father for the last eight years. He said: "Even if the treatment is successful and she is brought back to life in, let's say, 200 years, she may not find any relative and she might not remember things.

"She may be left in a desperate situation - given that she is still only 14 years old - and will be in the United States of America."

Eventually, he conceded in saying: "I respect the decisions she is making. This is the last and only thing she has asked from me."

This is such a tragic case.

Featured image credit: PA Images

Topics: Death, girl, British, Cancer

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

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