Posted by John W. Wirtanen [JohnWWirtanen] on March 30, 1999 at 17:03:58 {.Oe37V.qjQmCpMHrVMyIEn.OK4kK/E}:
In Reply to: DR.Laura NO-Blood LETTER nice! posted by Bloodless on March 30, 1999 at 15:43:12:
It's a common JW misconception that the medical field automatically wants to use blood in surgeries. When I disassociated in March, 1994, one of the first things that I did was to contact my doctor regarding this issue. I said to him that while I would prefer not to have blood adminstered, I would defer to his opinion should he deem it necessary.
He asked: "But aren't you one of Jehovah's Witnesses?" I said, "Not anymore, so I don't have the same strong convictions regarding blood that I once had." To my surprise he said "That's good to know. But, I never recommend blood unless it is absolutely necessary. I very rarely advise it for my patients." So, blow #1 to the JW's line that the medical profession just wants to pump blood into people.
Furthermore, there was an article recently in a San Francisco weekly newspaper regarding Jehovah's Witnesses and blood. It made the same points that were in the response to Dr. Laura (that the JWs basically pioneered --- pardon the use of the term --- the medical profession's efforts to pursue bloodless surgery and that non-JWs were opting for this treatment where possible).
HOWEVER, it also added that in those few cases where there does not seem to be any hope without a blood transfusion, many Doctors find it a very difficult situation to be in. Also, the non-JW patients may opt to take their own blood and store it beforehand in certain cases where a transfusion seems to be required. This is an option not "legally" available to a "card-carrying" JW. And this information was from, as I recall, physicians from the University of California - San Francisco Hospital. This too is a very prestigious and well-known hospital.
So, to put a spin of balance on this, as I see it, the medical profession as a whole has not 100% swung around to the viewpoint of no-blood under any circumstances. The present stance that the JW
hierarchy stubbornly refuses to budge on (such as not storing ones own blood and the equating of blood transfusions with the eating of blood) is unconscienable. The facts that Liberal Elder recently (and Raymond Franz earlier) have clearly
presented on this topic show that those in charge are holding to their stance not out of reason. No, but but it could be out of ego and/or fear of the possible reprisals of all those who have lost loved ones due to this non-theologically
based requirement of JWs.