EXTRACTS FROM OPINION, DATED DECEMBER 29, 2023:
“… I have given nearly 150 lectures and classes in conferences and courses on transfusion medicine in Spain and Latin America, I am the coordinator of three books on transfusion medicine … and author of more than 40 book chapters, most of them related to transfusion medicine.”
“The implementation of PBM in clinical routine translates into a significant decrease in transfusion rates, a better postoperative outcome, and a shorter length of stay. …
“The reality is, that Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse only part of the treatment, which refers to receiving blood components. However, they seek to benefit from the latest advances in medicine, including major surgical procedures.”
“In the very recent article by Chambault et al., 11 studies have been found that compared the results of cardiac surgery in JWs [Jehovah’s Witnesses] and the rest of the population. None of these studies found significant differences in immediate, medium, or long-term mortality. They also found no significant difference in outcomes in terms of perioperative acute myocardial infarction,
kidney damage, or infection.”
“The protocols designed for surgery without blood transfusion in JWs are applicable to the rest of the population, as has been demonstrated in liver transplantation, so refusal to transfuse JWs is useful to the general population.”
“Medical and surgical care for pediatric patients will therefore always be safe. In my personal experience, treating pediatric patients for 20 years, some of them children of JWs, I have never had any problems. … The preparation of the patients and the joint work of the surgical and anesthetic teams has allowed me to always achieve the goal of bloodless surgery, as requested by the parents. No child has suffered any harm as a result of their parents’ refusal to receive a transfusion and it has never been necessary to take the matter to court.”
“Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ desire to receive “transfusion-free” care is no longer an eccentricity but a desirable model of care for the entire population. …”
“The vast majority of cases of surgery in JWs are resolved without the need for transfusion, and it is possible to perform major surgeries with adequate preparation. Cases in which the refusal to accept transfusions puts the patients life at risk are exceptional and do not occur in pediatric patients. Transfusion-free medical care meets both the needs and rights of the patient.”
(Original in Spanish.)