Jehovah’s Witnesses, Blood Transfusion and the legal and Ethical Dilemma – Agboola Peter. He has criticized the "controlling intervention" of the Watch Tower Society by means of what he claims is information control and its policy of penalising members who accept blood transfusions or advocate freedom to choose blood-based treatment. [124] Muramoto says the view that blood is nourishment—still espoused in Watch Tower publications[125]—was abandoned by modern medicine many decades ago. The researchers stated, "The members of this congregation are adamant in their refusal to accept all blood products... Not one of the members stated they would receive a blood transfusion even if their refusal meant death, Almost one third of the respondents had personally refused blood transfusions". For example, Christian apologist Richard Abanes wrote that their ban on blood transfusions, "has led to countless Witness deaths over the years, including many children. The Watchtower, September 15, 1961, p. 558, Durable Power of Attorney form, published by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, January 2001 p. 1, The Watchtower, February 15, 1964, p. 127-128, The Watchtower, November 15, 1964, p. 680-683, Letter to All Presiding Overseers and Secretaries in the United States, Watchtower May 3, 2001, and Enclosure, Letter to All Presiding Overseers and Secretaries in the United States, Watchtower December 20, 2001, The Watchtower, September 15, 1961, p. 563-564. [5], Jehovah's Witnesses' literature teaches that their refusal of transfusions of whole blood or its four primary components—red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma—is a non-negotiable religious stand and that those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain life by taking in blood,[6][7] even in an emergency. It is appropriate to have a frank, confidential discussion with the patient about the potential risks of their decision and the possible alternatives to transfusion, but the freely expressed wish of a competent adult must always be respected. The High Court heard doctors must go ahead with the procedure because, although the 15-year-old is intelligent and able to make her own decisions, she should not be allowed to die. [72][73] A 1925 issue of The Golden Age commended a man for donating blood 45 times without payment. As to administering transfusions to non-members, The Watchtower stated that such a decision is "left to the Christian doctor's own conscience. A teenage Jehovah’s Witness in the UK must have a blood transfusion to save her life despite her religious objections, a senior judge ruled today. [84] A position against "the various blood fractions" was reiterated in September 1961. Other fractions derived from blood are not prohibited. [31] Many physicians have expressed a willingness to respect patients' preferences and provide bloodless treatment[32][need quotation to verify] and about 200 hospitals offer bloodless medicine and surgery programs for patients who wish to avoid or limit blood transfusions. Jehovah’s Witnesses often point to the risk that one might contract a serious illness from a contaminated blood transfusion, but the same Consumer Reports article referenced above proved that the chances of this occurring are substantially less than being killed in an auto accident or a plane crash. "[34], Bloodless medical and surgical techniques have limitations, and surgeons say the use of various allogeneic blood products and pre-operative autologous blood transfusion are appropriate standards of care for certain patient presentations. [41] In the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that in cases of "an imminent threat to a child's life", physicians in some cases may "intervene over parental objections". [129][130] They say their principle of abstaining from blood as a display of respect is demonstrated by the fact that members are allowed to eat meat that still contains some blood. He claims such organizational pressure compromises the autonomy of Witness patients and interferes with their privacy and confidentiality. A competent adult patient is free to decide ... not to have a blood transfusion. An adult Jehovah’s Witness who is unable to consent to or refuse treatment . [91] In 1990, a brochure entitled How Can Blood Save Your Life? Migden and Braen", http://www.moffitt.org/moffittapps/ccj/v2n6/article13.html, "How We Came to Be Known as Jehovah's Witnesses — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY", "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses: Part 1. She underlines the fact that this occurred in the presence of knowledge of Biblical statements regarding blood. Nearly all Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse transfusions of whole blood (including preoperative autologous donation) and the primary blood components – red cells, platelets, white cells and unfractionated plasma. [57][58][59] Those Jehovah's Witnesses who accept the blood doctrine typically hold strongly to their conviction. [49], Annually since 2004, Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States have been informed that "with your consent, the law allows for the elders to learn of your admission [to hospital] and provide spiritual encouragement",[51] but that "elders serving on a Patient Visitation Group [could] have access to your name" only if patients made their wishes known according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Blood leaving the body of a human or animal must be disposed of. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Bible prohibits Christians from accepting blood transfusions. Transfusions of autologous blood part of a "current therapy". An unusual court case involving a Witness and a blood transfusion occurred in Pomona, CA. Myth: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that faith will heal a person’s ailments. "[53] A Jehovah's Witnesses publication in 2000 reported that Argentina had fewer than a hundred HLC committeemen "giving vital information to the medical community", adding that "their work is complemented by hundreds of other self-sacrificing elders who make up Patient Visitation Groups that call on Witness patients to help and encourage them". [82] Watch Tower publications warned that accepting a blood transfusion could prevent Witnesses from living eternally in God's new world, the hope held by members: "It may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but that at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian. Labeling or Tagging, blood is withdrawn, mixed with medicine, and then returned to the patient by transfusion. [55][56], Since the elaboration of the blood doctrine to the point of prohibiting transfusion, the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses have adopted the organization's position. In a hospital, when a patient cannot eat through his mouth, he is fed intravenously. [105][108] He says the threat of being classified as a disassociated Witness and subsequently shunned by friends and relatives who are members coerces Jehovah's Witnesses to accept and obey the prohibition on blood transfusions. 3 Comments. 222, 235-237. [35][36] The Watch Tower Society states that in medical emergencies where blood transfusions seem to be the only available way to save a life, Jehovah's Witnesses request that doctors provide the best alternative care possible under the circumstances with respect for their personal conviction. Jehovah’s Witnesses for a malignant condition where blood or blood component support would normally be part of the treatment plan. It is an invention of people, who, like the Pharisees, leave Jehovah's mercy and love aside. [54] Each branch office appoints PVG committeemen, who serve as volunteers. [74] In 1927, The Watchtower noted, without elaboration, that in Genesis 9, God decreed that Noah and his offspring "must not eat the blood, because the life is in the blood". [101] In a series of articles in the Journal of Medical Ethics US neurologist Osamu Muramoto, who is a medical adviser to the AJWRB, has raised issues including what he claims is coercion to refuse transfusions, doctrinal inconsistency, selective use of information by the Watch Tower Society to exaggerate the dangers of transfusions and the use of outdated medical beliefs. Case reports reveal JW patients have changed their earlier decision to accept blood treatment after a visit from the elders." He notes that while HLC members, who are church elders, "may give the patient 'moral support', the influence of their presence on the patient is known to be tremendous. "Are You Ready to Face a Faith-Challenging Medical Situation?". [76], In 1944, with the Watch Tower Society under the administration of president Nathan Homer Knorr, The Watchtower asserted that the decrees contained in Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:10–14 forbade the eating or drinking of blood in biblical times "whether by transfusion or by the mouth" and that this applied "in a spiritual way to the consecrated persons of good-will today, otherwise known as 'Jonadabs' of the Lord's 'other sheep'. 43 p. 668, Transfusion-Free Medicine, edited by Dr Nicolas Jabbour, 2005 p. 13. blood transfusion Jehovah’s Witnesses. [105] He has questioned why white blood cells (1 per cent of blood volume) and platelets (0.17 per cent) are forbidden, yet albumin (2.2 per cent of blood volume) is permitted. 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