3.5 Patients are increasingly demanding alternatives to allogeneic blood
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The Patients Association:

According to this group, "Autologous transfusion is generally considered to be safer than using banked blood because it reduces the risk of the transmission of blood-borne disease and infection. Research has shown that having your own blood returned to you following surgery may improve post-operative response, diminish the risk of side effects and may also help to reduce the length of your stay in hospital."

Jehovah's Witnesses:

see also Tell Me More at the bottom of this page

As a group, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse allogeneic blood transfusion and do not donate blood for use by themselves or others. They accept neither whole blood nor its primary components (red cells, white cells, platelets, plasma).

Individual Jehovah's Witnesses make personal choices about accepting blood fractions such as hormones, clotting factors, interferon, wound healing factors. They also decide personally whether they will accept haemodilution, cell salvage and tagging.

Each individual patient should be treated according to their personal wishes, assessed during pre-operative planning.

Local Hospital Liaison Committees (HLCs) are available to assist Jehovah's Witnesses and treating teams.

To find Hospital Liaison Committee telephone numbers, call 020 8371 3415.


 

LEARNING GUIDE LEARNING GUIDE

To be able to pass the Test on this page, 3.5, entitled "Patients are increasingly demanding alternatives to allogeneic blood", make sure you learn what the Patients Association recommends about autologous transfusion, and the lessons learned from the experience of Jehovah's Witnesses.



Tell Me More Test/Survey
 

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