http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1999/3/8/article_01.htm
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For religious reasons, Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood transfusion, asking instead for nonblood alternative medical treatment. ( Acts 15:28, 29 ) For information on the reasons for and reasonableness of this, see How Can Blood Save Your Life?, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
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http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2000/1/8/article_03.htm
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Blood and Jehovah's Witnesses
For Bible-based reasons, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions.* But they do accept—and vigorously pursue—medical alternatives to blood. "Jehovah's Witnesses actively seek the best in medical treatment," said Dr. Richard K. Spence, when director of surgery at a New York hospital. "As a group, they are the best educated consumers the surgeon will ever encounter."
Doctors have perfected many bloodless surgery techniques on Jehovah's Witnesses. Consider the experience of cardiovascular surgeon Denton Cooley. Over a period of 27 years, his team performed bloodless open-heart surgery on 663 of Jehovah's Witnesses. The results clearly demonstrate that cardiac operations can be successfully performed without the use of blood.
True, many have criticized Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal of blood. But a guide published by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland calls the Witnesses' position "a sign of respect for life." In truth, the Witnesses' rigorous stand has been a major force behind safer medical treatment becoming available for all. "Jehovah's Witnesses in need of surgery have shown the way and exerted pressure for improvements in an important sector of the Norwegian health service," writes Professor Stein A. Evensen, of Norway's National Hospital.
To assist doctors in providing treatment without the use of blood, Jehovah's Witnesses have developed a helpful liaison service. Presently, more than 1,400 Hospital Liaison Committees worldwide are equipped to provide doctors and researchers with medical literature from a data base of over 3,000 articles related to bloodless medicine and surgery. "Not only Jehovah's Witnesses, but patients in general, are today less likely to be given unnecessary blood transfusions because of the work of the Witnesses' Hospital Liaison Committees," notes Dr. Charles Baron, a professor at Boston College Law School.#
The information on bloodless medicine and surgery that has been compiled by Jehovah's Witnesses has been of benefit to many in the medical field. For example, in preparing material for a book entitled Autotransfusion: Therapeutic Principles and Trends, the authors asked Jehovah's Witnesses to provide them with information about alternatives to blood transfusion. The Witnesses gladly granted their request. With gratitude the authors later stated: "In all our reading on this subject, we have never seen such a concise, complete list of strategies to avoid homologous blood transfusion."
Progress in the medical field has caused many to consider bloodless medicine. Where will this lead us? Professor Luc Montagnier, discoverer of the AIDS virus, states: "The evolution of our understanding in this field shows that blood transfusions must one day die out." In the meantime, alternatives to blood are already saving lives.
The Patient's Role
- Talk to your doctor about nonblood alternatives before the need for treatment arises. This is especially important for pregnant women, parents with small children, and the elderly.
- Put your wishes down in writing, especially if a legal document is available for such a purpose.
- If your physician is not willing to treat you without blood, seek a physician who will comply with your wishes.
- Since some alternatives to blood require time to be effective, do not postpone seeking treatment if you know that you need an operation.