by hopelesslystained 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
This is what my elderete (sp?) aunt, wife to presiding elder uncle, stated to all the family and medical staff present as my Dad was being wheeled in for hip surgery.
I have been out for 30+ years. Do the JWs really lay claim to medical advances in this field?
Hope
“A growing number of hospitals are offering an alternative: ‘bloodless’ surgery,” reported TheWallStreetJournal. “Originally developed to accommodate Jehovah’s Witnesses,” states the journal, “the practice has gone mainstream, with many hospitals promoting their bloodless-surgery programs to the general public.” Hospitals around the world are discovering numerous benefits, particularly to patients, when implementing strategies that curtail the use of blood transfusions. Currently, thousands of doctors are treating patients without resorting to transfusions.
Cut and pasted from a 2006 awake article, so possibly that is how they might see it.
That is exactly how they see it. If it were not for the Borg's ridiculous stance on blood transfusions, they don't think any advancement would have been made in the field of blood alternatives, blood fractions, or bloodless surgery. The JWs take credit for it all. Evidently, all those scientists and lab technicians would have been researching the health benefits of wombat dung or some other such useless science if not for the Borg.
...the JWs pioneered bloodless surgery
No, bozos, it was not the JWs.
It was the doctors and scientists, who spent many sleepless nights studying for exams at institutions you condemn, so they can accommodate your ungrateful a$$es and still fulfill their professional and moral obligations.
Why don't you go to a third world country (with a high number of regular pioneers if you wish, pun intended) and see how pioneered bloodless surgery is there?
EDIT: Mad beat me to it
Bloodless surgery was pioneered by Adolf Lorenz because he had a severe skin allergic reaction to carbolic acid, which was used in the operating rooms in the 1880's.
Nowadays:
Contemporary usage of bloodless surgery refers to both invasive and noninvasive medical techniques and protocols. The term is somewhat confusing. [ 6 ] The expression does not mean "surgery that makes no use of blood or blood transfusion". Rather, it refers to surgery performed without transfusion of allogeneic blood. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Champions of bloodless surgery do, however, transfuse products made from allogeneic blood and they also make use of pre-donated blood for autologous transfusion. [ 9 ] The last twenty years have witnessed a surge of interest in bloodless surgery, for a variety of reasons. Jehovah's Witnessesreject blood transfusions on religious grounds; others may be concerned about bloodborne diseases, such as hepatitis and AIDS.
Because of the lower costs, many hospitals are going this way, the limitations as of right now seem to be people trained in the process.
Bloodless surgery is NOT an option in the case of emergencies when the risk is LOSS of blood.
I am sure that the market that the JW's created with their "no blood' doctrine certaibly helped but I don't know of any JW that is/was a doctor and pioneered anything in regards to bloodless surgery, does anyone?
According to Wikipedia - let the reader use discernment -
Bloodless surgery is a term that was popularized at the beginning of the 20th century by the practice of an internationally famous orthopedic surgeon, Adolf Lorenz, who was known as "the bloodless surgeon of Vienna."
The above wiki quote references early 1900's as the time period of innovation in 'bloodless' surgery, however, it wasn't until the 1950's or 1960's that the witnesses made their stand against blood.
So who really was the 'pioneer' here.
Also, while the Jehovah's Witnesses may have advanced the cause, they are not the pioneers as it's doubtful that they did the actual scientific research. They took a stand, and humanitarian physician scientists took up the cause to find an effective way to treat the challenging patient.
The physicians who took on the challenge are the ones who pioneered the practice.
-Aude.
I certainly doubted her statement and had to staunch a giggle. the only non-jws present were myself, 1 sister and the medical staff out of about 12. I was actually very embarrased as I doubted the existence of jw scientists or doctors capable of doing such work.
My Dad had agreeded to having his lost blood recycled and used (which ended up not needing to be used) He was a tough elder in his day and this suprised me as when I was 'in' even this was not condoned. Many changes apparently.
Hope
