Ethical Dilemma of Blood Transfusions

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Ethical Dilemma of Blood Transfusions Health care personnel including doctors, nurses, administrators and other professionals are faced with ethical and legal issues on a daily basis. Many decisions require quick thinking and acting upon in life and death situations. What treatment should be done, are heroic measures to be instituted if the need arises, when is enough really enough, are some of the many questions that put health care personnel in ethical dilemmas. One ethical issue is the use of blood products for transfusions. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe it is acceptable to receive transfusions of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, or plasma. Jehovah’s Witnesses literally interpret a passage from the bible Genesis 9:3-4 which states, “Only flesh from its soul - - its blood - - you must not eat” (CTV News, 2002). Although Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in blood transfusions some individuals may make a personal choice to use fractions of red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, or platelets if the need arises (AJWRB, 2006). A 15-year-old, who for the purpose of the paper will be called Sarah, continues to face a tough ethical battle. The young woman is a Jehovah’s Witness who is living with Crohn’s disease. When she was 14-years-old she had a flare-up of Crohn’s disease, which is a chronic illness that affects the gastrointestinal system. When she was admitted to the hospital during her flare-up she and her parents refused to consent to a blood transfusion. The case went to Court of Queen’s Bench justice. The court granted Manitoba’s Child and Family Services an order enabling doctors to give blood transfusions or products ‘as they deem medically necessary’ without consent of the young woman or her parents. Sarah’s condition deteriorated and the doctors deemed it necessary that she be given a blood transfusion. Although

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