by JH 25 Replies latest jw friends
The company I work for regularly supports the donating of blood. On a special day, you simply have to go to the medical department, your health is checked and you can donate blood.
The last time I was very close to go but hesitated. Maybe next time.
Two weeks ago, I noticed that I had still carried my Medical Directive with me. I have taken it out of my wallet.
My hernia repair was about 18 months ago. I told the hospital that I would accept blood but only as a last chance lifesaving solution. I wanted everything else exhausted first.
My life is worth more than some old virgins in Brooklyn say it is.
Yerusalyim said,
Put someone on a table facing immenient death or taking a blood transfusionI think that most witnesses would say that they wouldn't accept blood because they were never in such a position where there life was in danger. But, put them in a situation where they could die if they had no blood transfusion, then I think many would accept it as a last resort. Life is worth living, and they would say "God understands and will forgive me if I accept blood".
Edited by - JH on 8 December 2002 13:36:9
Ambivalent.
Philosophically, when my number is up, it's time to go.
Realistically, when my number is up, I'd probably do whatever I could to put it back in the hat.
Craig
were you ever a witness, JH?
I cant c anything wrong accepting blood if I really need some!
That has been mine point of wiew all 40 years in JV
Riz
I am inactive since 10 years
I'm w/ LB - only as a last resort. Would rather them use any and everything else but blood first, and if that doesn't work, then gimme the blood.
I just don't like the idea of having someone else's blood running through my veins. My blood is part of my soul ...ya know?
I have been a regular blood donor for almost three years. I'm what they call a "universal donor" (Type O, Rh negative or "O Neg" like they say on ER), and my blood can be used in an emergency to help anyone. Canadian Blood Services always calls me about every 7 weeks to remind me that I'll be eligible to donate again on such-and-such date. Donating blood is not a harmful procedure for a healthy individual to do.
And yes, if I was critically injured or ill and needed blood to save my life, I would accept blood. If my children or husband were sick or injured and needed blood, I would authorize a transfusion without hesitation.
If I was facing elective surgery, I would opt for storing my own blood in advance of the surgery.
When I was a JW, I was under the misguided impression that doctors and hospital staff were perched like vultures, waiting for any JW to come in and ready to force blood on us by whatever means possible. My misconception disappeared when I became a nurse and realized just how valuable blood is, and how doctors can only order blood transfusions when very strict criteria is met. JWs have the notion that there's so much blood in the system that hospitals can just load you up and not miss a beat. They tend to think that because blood is "donated" that it's inexpensive to treat someone with it. Nothing could be further from the truth. While donors are not compensated for donating their blood in Canada (which prevents people from donating for the money when they really shouldn't be donating at all), it costs about $300 to process a single unit of blood. When a patient is sick enough to need a blood transfusion (haemoglobin level less than 70 mg/L is the standard we use), doctors order a minimum of two units in order to bring the haemoglobin level back into an acceptable range. There are so many checks and double checks, so many screening procedures for HIV, Hepatitis, malaria, and now CJV (Mad Cow disease), just to name a few, that I'm confident that the blood supply in Canada is safer now than it has ever been. In the five years that I've been a nurse, I've administered probably three dozen transfusions on my ward (maternal newborn care) and during my training in an outpatient cancer treatment centre, and I have not seen even a minor case of what is known as "transfusion reaction", not even a minor increase in a patient's temperature.
Love, Scully
back2dafront writes:
I just don't like the idea of having someone else's blood running through my veins. My blood is part of my soul ...ya know?
"Someone else's blood" doesn't run through your veins forever, once you've had a transfusion. Blood cells are like almost all other cells in your body that replace themselves on a regular basis. Erythrocytes (red blood cells - which is what you get with a transfusion) have a lifespan of about 110 to 120 days, so within a period of two to three months after a transfusion, any donated blood in your system will be gone, and replaced with blood cells that your own body has produced.
Love, Scully
