Transplantation in Jehovah’s witness population: bloodless surgery allows options

Abstract

T t n the not-so-distant past, encountering the words “bloodless” and “liver transplant” in the same entence was rare. Also uncommon was seeing liver transplant” and “Jehovah’s Witness” toether—unless in reference to the refusal of a ehovah’s Witness (JW) to allow surgery involving lood transfusions. But today, thanks to advanced echnology and innovative physicians, “bloodless iver transplant” and “Jehovah’s Witness” are beoming associated more frequently. Countless ives have been saved because of advances in the loodless-transfusion process, and the medical alernatives for JWs have broadened amazingly ithin the past several years. In addition to the JWs, who will not have transusions because of religious beliefs, there is a much maller number of other patients who cannot have ransfusions (eg, those with antibodies). Also, ome patients fear the possible transmission of iseases via the transfusion process. Surgery, by its ery nature, involves dealing with the patient’s lood system. Surgical transplants, in turn, can esult in higher blood loss than surgery with less ntricate procedures. And liver transplants are mong the most costly of all in terms of lost blood. ontributing to the difficulty and high risk inolved in liver-transplant operations is the fact that ost patients eligible for a transplant are in exremely poor health by the time surgery begins ecause they have waited so long for a donor. The peration is a complex, time-consuming procedure