Blood Transfusion on Pregnant Jehovah’s Witness

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Blood Transfusion on Pregnant Jehovah’s Witness
We all can agree that blood is the most precious liquid that a human being possesses, and without it, life and existence would be diminished. Up to this date, Jehovah’s Witness have refused blood transfusion procedures due to their religion, but this issues becomes more of a predicament when it jeopardize somebody else’s life; a life of fetus in a pregnant woman. Based on Jehovah’s Witness’s Old Testament and New Testament, “It seem good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food scarified to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immortally. You will avoid these things Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29).
On the 1950’s, the above statement drove the medical field insane, many doctors used to forced blood transfusion on Jehovah’s Witness and other doctors refused to provide treatment to those who refuse blood transfusion; even in a life threatening situation. For some time, doctors were put on a bad position, they faced a dilemma when caring for a Jehovah’s Witness patient because if a patient (Jehovah’s Witness) was not treated promptly must likely he/she would die, but if they were threated against his or her wishes with blood transfusions, the doctor was charged with “Assault”. As the time went-on, the blood transfusion topic became more controversial, mainly due to the increase number on cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) acquired when used contaminated blood. The Scientifics, along with the medical field were forced to work together with Jehovah’s Witness in order to develo...

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...ts of view regarding the blood transfusions and the treatment for pregnant women at risk of hemorrhage or abrupt hemorrhage. One group wanted to religiously follow their believes and the other group wanted to help them live to see another day, however, when these two groups started to work together (without a preconceive perception) a goal was accomplished. A goal in which all the society have been benefited from to eliminate blood loss in where most blood transfusions have been minimal or eliminated.

Reference
Braithwaite, P., Chichester, M., & Reid, A. (September 2010). When the Pregnant Jehovah’s
Witness Patient Refuses Blood. Nursing for Women’s Health, 14 (6), 462-470.
Lilley, L. L., Rainforth, S., & Snider, J. (2013). Pharmacology and the Nursing Process (7th Ed.)
St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby. Page (434-434, 476, 478,766-767)

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