Jehovah's Witnesses - Position Overview

Return to Index Step 1: An Overview Of Bloodless Medicine Step 2: The Components Of Blood Step 3: Why People Choose Bloodless Medicine Step 4: Benefits And Risks Step 5: Surgeries That Can Use Bloodless Methods Step 6: Preparing For Bloodless Surgery Step 7: Strategies And Techniques During Surgery Step 8: Post-Surgery Glossary

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Jehovah's Witnesses firmly believe that blood has sacred meaning, and that it should not be removed from the body and stored, nor should donor blood be taken in during a transfusion. Therefore, Witnesses do NOT accept blood products containing major blood fractions (see chart below) or any technique that involves blood storage.

The chart below further defines the position of Jehovah's Witnesses. It lists which techniques are clearly acceptable (there are many!) and which are a matter of personal decision.

ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES

Blood-oxygen monitoring devices

Transcutaneous pulse oximeter
Pediatric ultra-microsampling equipment
Multiple tests per blood draw (batching)

Hematopoietic agents

IV Iron (InFed, Ferrlicet, Venofer)
Folic Acid
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin C
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (Neupogen)
Interleukin-11 (Neumega)
Recombinant stem-cell factor (Stemgen)

Operative and anesthetic techniques

Hypotensive anesthesia
Induced hypothermia
Mechanical occlusion of bleeding vessel

Hemostatic agents for bleeding/clottingTopical

Avitene
Gelfoam
Oxygel
Surgicel

Injectable

Desmopressin (DDAVP)
e-aminocaproic acid (Amicar)
Tranexamic acid (Cyklokapron)
Vasopressin (Pitressin)
Aprotinin (Trasylol)
Vincristine (Oncovin)
Conjugated estrogens
Vitamin K (Phylonadione)
Recombinant Factor VIIa (NiaStase)
Recombinant Factor IX (BeneFIX)

Volume expanders: Crystalloids

Ringer's lactate
Normal and hypertonic saline

Volume expanders: Colloids

Dextran
Gelatin
Hetastarch (Hespan, Hextend)
Pentastarch

Oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Perfluorocarbon solutions (Oxygent)

Surgical devices and techniques

Electrocautery
Ligasure vessel sealing system
Laser surgery
Argon beam coagulator
Gamma knife radiosurgery
Microwave coagulating scalpel
Endoscope
Arterial emobolization
Cryosurgery
Ultrasonic scalpel

PERSONAL DECISIONS

Medical products and therapy

Albumin
Any drug buffered with albumin (e.g., Epogen/Procrit, Kogenate)
Immune globulins
Natural clotting factors
Cryoprecipitate
Plasma protein fractions (Plasmanate)
Tissue adhesives
Natural interferons
Hemoglobin-based blood substitutes
Platelet derived wound healing factors

Medical tests

Red or white blood cell tagging

Surgical procedures

Dialysis and heart-lung equipment
Intraoperative blood salvage (Cell Saver) without storage
Hemodilution (if blood is not stored)
Therapeutic apheresis

Based on a table created by Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

Review Date: May 12, 2005
Reviewed By: Amy L. Friedman, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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