EXTRACTS FROM OPINION, DATED DECEMBER 19, 2023:
“For 30 years I have been successfully performing operations on congenital heart defects without blood transfusions in children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and others. During these years I have operated on dozens of newborns, infants and older children with complex heart defects. In addition, 150 cases of children whose non-Witness parents asked not to receive blood transfusions were examined. The results of these studies clearly show that children who were not given blood recover faster, stay shorter in the intensive care unit and have fewer postoperative complications. For this reason, we always try to avoid blood transfusions when the clinical condition of the patient allows it. …
In principle, most surgical procedures in children can be safely carried out without blood transfusions after proper preparation of the young patient.
From my many years of contact with Jehovah’s Witness parents, I can say that they are wise and caring parents who raise their children well. I note that these children are well prepared for their stay in the hospital. They are well-mannered children, trusting, open to requests from medical staff, do not cry without reason, do not become hysterical and willingly comply with instructions.”
(Original in Polish.)