Blood Issue on Grey's Anatomy Tonight

by jamiebowers 19 Replies latest jw friends

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  TheListener

  the girl next door - welcome! I do not think your efforts were in vain. You saved lives, there is nothing about saving a life that isn't important. There are human beings who were given a chance at life because of your efforts.

  Although the blood rules are a bit different now there are still a lot of witnesses, I would even say a majority, that view accepting fractions and pieces and parts as bad as a whole blood transfusion and simply will not do it. I know, I'm married to one.

  Imagine if the arguments and discussions you had with those parents were actually with your spouse about your own children. It's not easy but it is worth it.
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  ndmom73

  Watching this right now on Hulu and about jumped out of my chair when they declared the kid a JW. Still watching, should be interesting. Will come back and comment when the episode is over.

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  Edited to add: Well it was a good episode although I am a biased Grey's Anatomy fan. :) Now that I think of it I am surprised this hasn't been covered in the many seasons prior. I think it was a fairly good portrayal, the family looked so conservative that I was surprised that the son was a long haired skater. lol That never would have happened in my home at least. But the statements did ring true also the way the wife subjegated to her husband to explain their beliefs was annoying.

  "Your blood wouldn't sustain his life, it would condemn it."
  "Living with it (blood) would be so much worse for him than dying without it."

  Both of those lines from this episode stood out for me especially because since in the storyline his best friend didn't even know he was a JW. Many of my school friends didn't know when I was growing up and that is mainly because #1 I didn't personally believe in the faith although of course my parents did & #2 it was embarrasing. The reason it would be worse for him to live with the blood is because his entire family and JW friends would turn against him.

  I have always wondered what would have happened if I had ever need a blood transfusion as a child. There were no parts of blood or other such things at the time. I know for a fact my mom would have let me die but I am pretty confident that my dad would have told the doctors to do whatever was needed to save my life. He was a JW for my mom but he wasn't devout and isn't one to care about rules especially concerning the life of his child. Thank goodness that wasn't ever an issue, but I feel so sad for the lives lost due to this backwards belief.

  Spoiler which someone already mentioned above is that the boy dies. I was relieved that they didn't go into the families reaction upon his death because it would have made me sick to my stomach to hear their words of "praise to Jehovah, it is his will", etc.
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  jamiebowers

  I'd never watched the show until last night. My brother called me yesterday afternoon to let me know about it and to post an alert here on JWN about it. During our conversation I said that I hoped the kid died, so that viewers would understand how serious the blood issue is. Well, hoping a fictional kid dies to prove a point was easy for me. But I burst into tears when the character did die near the end of the show.

  The writers did a good job for the most part. Some of the parents' lingo was a little off, and the hateful HLC wasn't portrayed. But the friend saying he didn't even know the kid was a jw and the intern's questions about the relevance of a 19-year old's beliefs really hit home for me. A perfect portayal of the blood issue in movies or television should also include the fact that a patient of any age would be df'd and shunned for accepting a blood transfusion. The fact that the choice to deny bllod is always done under duress.
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  joyfulfader

  i watched the episode with my daughter and while there were things that were right on track, iot didnt have the feel of a jw family. regarding the dog tags...my dad wears his and my grandmother had them. it was so if there blood card was MIA they would be covered. my daughter had the reaction i wanted to hear...that she doesnt see how god would want someone to die over that.
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  jgnat

  I watched it with JW hubby. He parroted things about "better medical care" and after the boy died, "this is better because he has the hope of paradise", and "he might have died anyways." So I don't know if he got a lot out of it but he did watch the whole show.

  I appreciated the sensitive approach to the medical dilemma. Even though it goes against everything the medical profession is driven to do - save lives - the religious view must be respected. I am also glad that the ultimate consequences were laid out for the viewer. The very spectre of death. I was also glad to see the real grief of the parents, after the consequences were carefully spelled out for them. It's not like the WTS spells it out.

  The jarring note for me was the huge extended family in the waiting room, publicly praying. That seemed more evangelical than Witness-y. The mother's dress and makeup was off. I mean, turtleneck under high collar? Floor length dress? Hair pulled back?
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  Gopher

  The show, despite a few minor inaccuracies and omissions, did a really good job portraying the conflict between the hard-line JW religious view and the medical world that wants to save lives.
  
  Here is a link to a summary of the episode and a "watch this episode" link:

  http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/episode-detail/bad-blood/1062764
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  sd-7

  Actually it did matter SD 7, I thought it was very well done

  Perhaps you're right. I suppose even if a JW changed the channel after seeing what the episode was about, those tiny threads of doubt have already begun to appear. I guess I'm not feeling overly optimistic today.

  --sd-7
• 

  shopaholic

  I've seen dog tags and bracelets with key chains being the most popular. The praying wasn't too far off but they should have been seated. Wasn't surprised by the long hair as the kid was most likely not active. This was his family's attempt to "save" him. I'm glad this fictitious character died as it showed the true cost of this silly doctrine.
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  Justitia Themis

  I thought it a reasonably accurate portrayal, though I doubt any resident would try to sneak in blood. ...insert eyeroll...

  I like that the show presented the key orbiting issues: he was only one year past the age of majority but his behavior did not match his alleged beliefs. Yet, he took the affirmative act of wearing his "dogtags." Therefore, absent some other evidence of rejecting his prior religious preferences, the hospital and physicians are bound to respect his statement.

  I did not like that EPO's efficacy was not addressed in greater detail. I wish the parents would have asked for EPO so the doctor could explain that they are using it, but that it takes days for it to make an impact, and he would be dead by then.

  I have personally witnessed (sigh...and sadly been part of) the large group prayer in a hospital, though I don't think it happens as often now.

  Ironically, I spent an hour and half earlier that day in my Bioethics class debating how far a patient can be pushed to engage in rehabilitation, and the show accurately represented to two very divergent approaches. Some will actually drag the person out of bed. LOL...I was hoping the Grey doctor would attempt that with the girl.
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  Watchtower-Free

  Grey Anatomy Season 9 Episode 13

  http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/videoweed.php?id=6564e88c54aba