Advertisement
Research Article| Volume 2, ISSUE 1, P91-100, January 1986

Blood Transfusions and Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Impact of the Patient’s Unusual Beliefs in Critical Care
  • Albert R. Jonsen
    Correspondence
    Corresponding author: Division of Medical Ethics, University of California, San Francisco, 1362 Third Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143
    Affiliations
    Professor of Ethics in Medicine and Chief, Division of Medical Ethics, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California
    Search for articles by this author
      This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.
      This article explains the belief of Jehovah’s Witnesses regarding blood transfusions, and argues that a physician must ethically respect that belief.
      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribers receive full online access to your subscription and archive of back issues up to and including 2002.

      Content published before 2002 is available via pay-per-view purchase only.

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Critical Care Clinics
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

        • Ackerman T.F.
        The limits of beneficence: Jehovah’s Witnesses and children’s cancer.
        Hastings Cent. Rep. 1980; 10: 13-18
      1. Adult Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood transfusion.
        J.A.M.A. 1972; 219: 273-274
        • Bym R.M.
        Compulsory life saving treatment for the competent adult.
        Fordham Law Rev. 1975; 44: 1-36
        • Cantor N.L.
        A patient s decision to decline life saving medical treatment: Bodily integrity versus the preservation of life.
        Rutgers Law Rev. 1973; 26: 228-264
        • Childress J.F.
        Who Should Decide: Paternalism in Health Care. Oxford University Press, New York1982
        • Cole M.
        Jehovah’s Witnesses. Vantage Press, New York1955
        • Cooley D.A.
        • Bloodwell R.D.
        • Beall Jr., A.C.
        • et al.
        Cardiac valve replacement without blood transfusion.
        Am. J. Surg. 1966; 112: 743-751
        • Cooley D.A.
        • Crawford F.S.
        • Howell J.F.
        • et al.
        Open heart surgery in Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        Am. J. Cardiol. 1964; 13: 779-781
        • Domette W.H.L.
        Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood transfusion: The horns of a dilemma.
        Anesth. Analg. 1973; 52: 272-278
        • Faden R.
        • Faden A.
        False belief and the refusal of medical treatment.
        J. Med. Ethics. 1977; 3: 133-137
        • Fitts W.T.
        • Orloff M.J.
        Blood transfusion and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        Surg. Gynecol. Obstet. 1959; 108: 502-512
        • Ford J.C.
        Refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        Linacre Quarterly 22, Catholic Lawyer. 1964; 10: 212
        • Gardener B.
        • Bivona J.
        • Alfonso A.
        • et al.
        Major surgerv in Jehovahs Witnesses.
        N.Y. State J. Med. 1976; 76: 765-767
        • Harrison B.G.
        Visions of Glory: A History and Memory of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Simon and Schuster, New York1978
        • Hegland K.F.
        Unauthorized rendition of life saving medical treatment.
        Calif. Law Rev. 1965; 53: 860-875
        • Honda K.
        • Hoshino S.
        • et al.
        Clinical use of blood substitutes.
        N. Engl. J. Med. 1980; 303: 391-392
        • Huekema A.
        Jehovah’s Witnesses. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974
      2. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Question of Blood. Brooklyn Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1977
        • Jonsen A.
        • Jameton A.
        The social responsibilities of phvsicians.
        J. Med. Phil. 1977; 2: 376-400
        • Jonsen A.
        • Siegler M.
        • Winslade W.
        Clinical Ethics. Macmillan, New York1982
        • Macklin R.
        Consent, coercion and conflicts of rights.
        Perspect. Biol. Med. 1977; 20: 365
        • Meyers D.
        Medico-legal Implications of Death and Dying. Bancroft-Whitney, San Francisco1981
        • Miller B.C.
        Autonomy and life saving treatment.
        Hastings Cent. Rep. 1981; 11: 22-28
        • Mollison P.L.
        Blood Transfusions in Clinical Medicine. Blackwell, Oxford1979
        • Ott D.A.
        • Cooley D.A.
        Cardiovascular surgery in Jehovah’s Witnesses: Report of 542 operations without blood transfusion.
        J.A.M.A. 1977; 238: 1256-1258
        • Sandiford F.M.
        • Chiariello L.
        • Hallman G.L.
        • et al.
        Aorto-coronary bypass in Jehovah’s Witnesses: Report of 36 patients.
        J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 1974; 68: 1-7
        • Schechter D.C.
        Problems relevant to major surgical operations in Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        Am. J. Surg. 1968; 116: 73-80
        • Sharpe H.
        Lifesaving treatment for unwilling patients.
        Fordham Law Rev. 1968; 36: 695
        • Simmons Jr., C.W.
        • Messmer B.J.
        • Hallman G.L.
        • et al.
        Vascular surgery in Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        J.A.M.A. 1970; 213: 1032-1034
        • Winters R.G.
        • Dornette W.H.
        Jehovah’s Witnesses and consent.
        J. Legal Med. 1974; 2: 9
        • Wreen M.
        J. Skellv Wright and refusal of treatment.
        J. Bioethics. 1982/83; 4: 11-28
        • Zaorski J.R.
        • Hallman G.L.
        • Cooley D.A.
        Open heart surgery for acquired heart disease in Jehovah’s Witnesses: A report of 42 operations.
        Am. J. Cardiol. 1972; 29: 286-289