HLC, NO BLOOD AND THE TORT OF MISREPRESENTATION

belbab

In the recent thread regarding the Watchtower letters to all congregations regarding HLC and blood transfusions I quoted the following quote and added the comment following.

First, in the opening letter (Jan 3, 1995) addressed to the congregation, it states: Our computerized listing of cooperative doctors shows more than 19,000 in the United States. The worldwide listing from all the branches reports more than 50,000 doctors working with us.

We all know how the Society exaggerates numbers, these are all rounded out numbers. What doctor is not cooperative, how many doctors categorically refuse to work with Jehovah’s Witnesses? If these numbers are misleading, they are misrepresentations to their flock, giving them a false sense of security with regard to the blood issue. If the doctors are for us, who can be against us? Let’s hear from the doctors themselves, how about the American Medical Association?

The Jan 6, 2006 letter gives similar information:

There are over 1,000 elders serving on the 124 HLCs under the direction of the United States branch office. Worldwide, ther are over 9,000 elders serving more than 1,535 committees.

I don’t know if the following information has been posted or made know elsewhere, but if so, it needs to be repeated. I do not have time this morning to make an more detailed review of the following information, but I want to see it out there and enlist any of you out there to explore and run with it.

http://www.noblood.org/wiki/index.php/Jan_Wade

Quote:
Jan entered the field of bloodless medicine and surgery in 1991 when he was asked to join the Tacoma, Washington Hospital Liaison Committee for Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1993 he partnered with Puget Sound Hospital where he developed Washington States first Program for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery.
The year 1995 was especially eventful as Jan worked with Larry Eitel to develop Noblood.com now Noblood.org and also worked as a founding member of the National Association for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery (now ABC) where he served as Executive Board member and Chairman for the Marketing Committee. In 1996 Jan, along with other Executive Board members, introduced the concept of Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at the national headquarters of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
Jan is a graduate of Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Institute (BMSI) and serves as an instructor for BMSI classes. He is a founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Blood Conservation (SABM) and is an Executive Board Member of the Nursing Association for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery.
Jan has personally developed, implemented and managed three blood conservation programs and has served as prime consultant on many others. As an instructor at BMSI and through private mentoring Jan has enhanced many of the nurses and program managers currently working in the field of blood conservation. He is presently employed with Hemo Concepts Inc. serving as Director of Sales Training and Support.

I wish to direct you now to the following site. This site is not very easy to navigate in, but search every nook and corner, and you will find many interesting things. Much of the site is under construction, and much of it is not kept up to date.

http://noblood.org/wiki/index.php/Medical_Centers

First of all, there are only 23 states in the US that have no blood medical facilities. In Canada there is only one. If you search under coordinators there are many listed in the world. I suspect these are just the names of all the elder committees in the world. There are lists under “physicians” and other hospital workers but no where near the number that the WT Society says.

The letters of the WT Society are misleading all Jehovah’s Witnesses by leading them to believe that there exists a world wide extensive network that will aid and enable them to maintain their integrity regarding the blood issue. THIS FALSE AND A LIE!

Odrade

I think your highlighting the comment about all the docs who are favorable to the blood issue is a good one. Here's an example of a "favorable" doc: I know a surgeon. This doc gets lots of JW patients because of being listed as a willing to work with the blood issue. This doc told me directly, as I was leaving the organization, that blood would not be administered during surgery unless patient needed it. If there was any doubt the patient would not survive without blood, this doc would administer the transfusion and deal with the consequences later.
So, those numbers are extremely misleading. Just because a doc is listed, doesn't mean they support the crazy policies of no-blood. It simply means that they realize most surgeries can be accomplished without the use of blood, so they are willing to roll the dice and treat a JW patient.

Elsewhere

This sounds like a situation where the WTS lists ANY doctor who has ever worked with a JW regarding a bloodless procedure. I suspect many of these Doctors are not even aware of their being listed.

I've had job recruiters do something similar with my resume. They ask me if I have *ever* touched a certain technology, even if I only interacted with it for a few minutes and then they list that as one of my "professions" in the job proposals they send out to clients.

Clam

I regularly trash the HLC but for a change I'll add some balance in the shape of this 2 year old local news item.It shows the JWs actually being proactive and kind of doing community work. Bless the little devils

http://archive.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/2003/10/3/25699.html

Elsewhere

As usual, the Watchtower Society only provides charitable donations that directly benefit themselves.

I have *never* seen the Watchtower Society provide any charitable aid that did NOT benefit themselves in some way.

rebel8

I remember the development of "the list". From what I was told at the time (and keeping in mind I was a lowly female teenager and it was 20 yrs ago)........doctors made the list very easily. A dub would have the famous conversation with a doc about their views on blood. If the doc said, "I don't believe in use of blood products except in emergencies," or, "I will respect your wishes in case of emergency," or even just, "If you at some time require surgery and I don't feel comfortable performing it w/o acceptance of blood, I will let you know to find a different physician," he/she would get on the list. Basically, any statement on the doctor's part expressing willingness to treat a JW patient without blood puts him/her on the list. We were told to let the elders know the results of the famous conversations and they would put any "favorable" ones on a list, which was then submitted to the WTS.

If the above criteria is what the WTS actually used/uses, then it would be no surprise to have 19,000 on the list. The guy from the "No Blood" site is using different (more accurate) criteria. (Personally I think the guy is a whack, but that's a different story entirely.)

Gill

I doubt very much that there are many doctors of GOOD CONSCIENCE who would stand by and let a patient haemorrage to death during surgery without administering blood to try to save them.....even a JW patient.

I had thought it nonsense when out on FS a nurse said that she had been in surgery when a JW almost died. They all agreed in theatre, to ...what the hell! Give him blood. He lived. He never knew he had received a blood transfusion that saved his life. Now this was in the seventies and I had thought she was probably exaggerating. It was probably also before 'suing everyone' became popular.

HOWEVER....someone very close to me had surgery....was haemorraging to death and was given blood....12 months ago. She was never told. Her active JW children were told.... and consented!!! They didn't mind at all! This person was a competent adult, though elderly.

I expect doctors show their superior intelligence to the WTBTS all the time and some JWs show their superior intelligence to the WTBTS also.

sf

The ER doctor that lives across the street from me said to me a few days ago, after I told him I'm waiting for my ten copies of the essay; in which one is reserved for him, that just the last week there was yet another case of jws in the ER refusing blood.

He said he and his collegeages simply do not understand the entire policy, even the HLC/ WT letter-directives and why so many jws sign over power of attorney to elders, even while non-jw family members stand by. He admitted he has seen too many die over unclear facts.

He is very eager to share with his staff, the essay.

I'll post more after he reads it.

sKally

belbab

Clam,

It's a long long way to Tipperary, or in this case, Cornwall, UK. I thought there was another typical case where JWs donated a similar machine in Ireland, but I may be mistaken. I could have read the same news as you did.

A quote from the article you have posted:

This technique for blood conservation is not suitable, or available, for all kinds of surgery, but its use is being expanded."

Do you think this machine would be suitable for some one who has lost almost a fatal amount of blood in a car accident? Will the machine scrape up blood from the pavement, filter out the dirt and then be replaced in the accident victims body? Would it not be safer for a relative to step up and donate some blood for the victims recovery? How about a woman while giving birth starts haemoraging, her blood is contaminated with hormones, placenta residue, etc.?

Your reference to this machine, from far across the sea, makes my point. The WT letters speak of the widespread availability of alternative blood loss treatments worldwide. Jehovah's Witnesses are being led to believe that such machines are widely available. They are not, the facts are being misrepresented.

belbab

Madame Quixote

Thanks for this info. I've linked to this page at one of my (open letter to the medical community) websites:

http://www.freewebs.com/madamequixote/

Feel free to share it and create links to it. Thanks! -TJ Nobody

HLC, NO BLOOD AND THE TORT OF MISREPRESENTATION

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