Blood donations
A Jehovah’s Witnesses family come to visit their 14th years old son who has been 4 days in the hospital. He requires an urgent blood donation that will save his life, but his parents don’t allow it. What would you do?
If a colleague proposes to lie to the parents telling that there is an alternative treatment. This would consist in a photoreactive drug that can help him. But instead of giving him that medicine he hides the blood bag in an opaque recipient and finally makes the transfusions saving his life, would you allow it? Is it appropriate?
Now imagine that this is an emergency and you are in the ambulance. There is unconscious patient that accidentally you discover that is a Jehovah’s Witnesses. He has lost a lot of blood and maybe a blood transfusion could help to have a quicker recovery. Would you keep the secret?
On which side will you be?
Ognen Poposky
Journal of a Young Doctor 
Reblogged this on Medical English by Jonathan McFarland.
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I personally think we should respect other people’s beliefs. For jehovah’s witnesses, getting a transfusion equals to not going to heaven, so I don’t think I would try to trick them.
BUT things are different if we talk about a child, his parents do not have the right to let him die because of their beliefs. So I think I would call the court of minors and find a way to help the kid, legally.
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