Expert Opinions > Expert Medical Opinions > Professor José Roquette

Professor José Roquette

Europe | Portugal

EXTRACTS FROM OPINION, DATED DECEMBER 24, 2023:

“I have always received the best cooperation, understanding and kindness from these patients who, for religious reasons, do not accept blood transfusion – a decision that cannot be questioned, just as we don’t accept people questioning our religious choices, in my case Catholicism. When they were hospitalized, I never saw them try to promote their faith to other patients and they were always extremely cordial.

They placed their trust in me and my colleagues and established an extremely empathetic relationship with the nurses. I spoke to their representatives many times and they always found an alternative solution to transfusion, which we adopted when possible.

As a result of this relationship, a mutual trust was established between patients and doctors that was not different from the one we had always maintained with other patients and their families.

As I write this testimony, I remember the impact that the decision to reduce the use of blood to a minimum had on my practice and on the Institutions in which I worked in and managed. Many of the protocols established for this purpose resulted from collaboration with the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization.” (Original in Portuguese.)