Specialists Consider Alternatives to Blood

APPROXIMATELY 200 specialists from around the United States met in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, October 7, 1995, to discuss a subject of increasing interest to the medical field: bloodless medicine and surgery.

Several challenging circumstances were discussed. For example, what if a patient suffers from acute anemia? How can a baby that is born extremely prematurely be treated without blood? Can heart surgery be performed successfully without transfusions? Interestingly, bloodless surgery—often employing techniques that help the body to build up its own blood supply—has already been applied in all these situations with good results.a

Why is there a need for alternatives to blood transfusions? “We have learned that blood transfusions often pass along diseases, especially hepatitis,” says Sharon Vernon, director of the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland. She continues: “Even when blood doesn’t pass an infection it can suppress the patient’s immune response.” Although transmission of AIDS has been reduced through screening, there are still many diseases that can go undetected by such tests. And in spite of the need for greater preparation, bloodless surgery proves cost-effective for hospitals, as it eliminates the legal problems that may result when patients receive tainted blood.

To Jehovah’s Witnesses, there is a more important reason for avoiding taking in blood: God’s law forbids it. (Acts 15:29) Still, they want to receive the best medical treatment possible. Thus, they have cooperated with doctors who are spearheading research into nonblood medical treatment. Such benefits not only Jehovah’s Witnesses but also many others who are concerned about the dangers of blood transfusions.

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[Picture Credit Line on page 32]

WHO photo by P. Almasy