ASSIGNMENT AHB1103 BASIC HEMATOLOGY SEM II, 13/14NAME: AMIRAH FARVEEN BINTI BASHEER AHAMADMATRIST NO.: 1312766TITLE: SHOULD JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BE ALLOWED TO REFUSE BLOOD TRANSFUSION? The Witnesses (JWs) are members of a Christian-based religious movement. It was founded in 1879 by a Pennsylvania businessman, Charles Taze Russell. Followers of this movement believe in monotheism, in the existence of only one God, Jehovah. They strongly oppose the concept of the trinity. They believe that Jesus was created by God, Jehovah. Therefore, they strongly believe in the teachings of the Bible. They produce their own Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the doctrine of their organization: the Watchtower Society. They are well known for refusing blood transfusions in medical treatments. It is their deeply held belief that passages in the Bible clearly asked followers to abstain from blood. "The life of all flesh is its blood: whoever eats it will be cut off" (Lev. 17:10-16) and "abstain from meat offered to idols and from blood" (Acts 15:28-29) (1) Therefore , require doctors to provide alternatives such as bloodless surgery and the use of blood conservation techniques in surgery. Doctors and surgeons face challenges as it is very risky and requires high specialization and experience. Furthermore, the position of Jehovah's Witnesses puts doctors in a difficult situation as they are mostly forced to choose between their duty to preserve life and respect patients' rights. This refusal of blood transfusion by JW raises many ethical and legal debates regarding patients' rights to refuse treatment, especially in situations that could result in death. Parents' rights to refuse b...... middle of paper ......1: 695-701Jabbour,Gagandeep, Mateo,Sher, Genyk and Selby Transfusion-free surgery: single-institution experience of 27 consecutive liver transplants in Jehovah's Witnesses. J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Sep;201(3): 412-417Wong SY Blood transfusion and Jehovah's Witnesses revisited: implications for surgeons. Surgical practice. 2012; 16:128-132Milligan and Bellamy. Anesthesia and intensive care of Jehovah's Witnesses. Anesthesia. 2004;4.(2): 35-39Woolley.Jehovah's Witnesses in the emergency room: what are their rights? Emerg Med J, 2005;22:869-871 [accessed April 26, 2014]. Available from: emj.bmj.comHe v A Hospital NHS Trust; 2003 EWHC 1017 (Fam), 2003 2 FLR 408, 2003 Fam Law 733.Brezina and Moskop. Urgent Medical Decisions Concerning a Child Jehovah's Witness: Case Report and Discussion. NC Med J. 2007 September/October ;68(5) :312-316