What the doctor said about the JWs and blood

by MegaDude 10 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  MegaDude

  
  I work as a court reporter and wrote a doctor's deposition this evening at a very large hospital in Dallas, Texas, who is working on a clinical trial involving a drug that Jehovah's Witnesses use to help stop bleeding. He mentioned the JWs twice as he is involved in three different clinical trials using this drug which is a strong coagulant.

  During a recess I asked him if he worked with a lot of JWs and he said, "Oh, yes. And they're quite adamant in front of their peer group that they wont' accept anything, not even a cell saver machine, but when you get them alone that's a different story."

  So I asked him how many JWs change their mind and accept blood products later. He said, "Ah, when you get them alone it's a whole other story. When they realize they could die or one of their family could die, and no one from their church is around, they change their minds and accept anything over 50 percent of the time!!!!

  So there you Jehovah's Witnesses' reputation with doctors. When they are looking at harsh reality, more than half of them ignore the supposed sacred rule on avoiding blood.
• 

  Lady Lee

  it surprises me but then it doesn't surprise me at all
• 

  carla

  How would the elders really know? couldn't you just make up something that you didn't have blood? Of coure that would only work if no jw's worked there. Would an elder ask to actually see the files? In the US medical files are supposed to be very private. I know my underage child had to sign a consent for the ins. co. so I could sign for things or be otherwise informed. Even though the bill came to us, the parents. Now how they would collect $ without letting the parents know what any procedure was done I don't know. I guess you are responsible for them and would just have to pay.
• 

  Cygnus

  I wonder how much guilt exists afterwards, or if they justify it somehow and ask God for forgiveness (I can't leave my children without a mother), or if they even care.

  Patients who undergo surgery here have to sign paperwork allowing doctors to use blood products if needed. When the staff woke me up after my open heart procedure, I had three IVs going, one in each arm and one in my neck that was feeding me plasma. But they have to ask beforehand.
• 

  MegaDude

  I guess the JW thinks, "I'll take the blood now and live, and repent later!"
• 

  blondie

  So many JWs are ignorant of the choices they are allowed by the WTS, cell-saving machines for example. The WTS has even donated such machines to hospitals/clinics. So many JWs put off investigating what is out there medically until they are pulling up to the door of the hospital. One no-blood clinic has agreed to treat JWs but required that they file a healthcare proxy some time prior to treatment. They want to be sure it is not a last minute decision. After meeting with a group of 150 JWs and talking about this, only 1 person filed a proxy. The clinic doctors wondered how serious JWs were about cooperating with the doctors.

  So much about JWs in the last few years revolves around humans (other JWS, especially elders) finding out they have "sinned." If they can hide it from humans, they think they are safe. Makes you wonder how strong their faith is in the belief that God sees all things?

  Blondie
• 

  TheListener

  You hit the nail on the head Blondie.

  It's more about "will someone see me" or "what will someone who sees me think" than anything these days. The endless meetings, assemblies, conventions, etc. don't hit home with most dubs anymore. They're in attendance because "how will it look if I'm not" or "I've missed several meetings lately I better go tonight, I don't want the elders to think I'm not faithful."

  God, it's incredible how much this bugs me and make me happy at the same time. Dubs who don't fear God but only man are dubs who may exit one day. Maybe.
• 

  Mary

  When they realize they could die or one of their family could die, and no one from their church is around, they change their minds and accept anything over 50 percent of the time!!!!

  Well you can count me in on that one. When I had to have surgery a few years ago, I thought "...there's no way I want my parents to have to possibly outlive their child.." (plus, I wasn't ready to die), so I had my own blood stored. When I was in the room with the doctors, I told them that for obvious reasons, my decision had to be kept quiet. They said they understood completely and assured me that many other Witnesses have made the same choice when push comes to shove.
• 

  Balsam

  You know I suspect that is why the 3 or 4 Elders go to hosptials when a JW is in there and blood could be needed. The group enforcement keeps the followers in line. When my son Dak was in his accident the Elders met us at the trauma hospital to give us support, but I could not help but wonder if it was to ensure that we would not allow Dak blood to save his life. Perhaps it was both I don't know for sure. Certainly it was all the enforcement his father needed to refuse blood for him. Doctors did give him blood without our permission but mostly it was too late.

  http://www.mem.com/display/biography.asp?ID=9894 Dak McGill's story

  http://ajwrb.org/
• 

  LittleToe

  I'm glad to hear that many JWs are exercising their minds when facing live threatening situation. I don't want to contemplate too deeply what a challenge that presents for the psychologically, though.

  Blonde:
  I wonder if that modern bias towards not personalising their relationship has a bearing on the numbers who lose all "faith" and "belief" once they leave the religion?

  I was discussing the issue of prayer, once, and it was dogmatically asserted by the individual that they had prayed fervently to a God whom they felt they had had a relationship with. Of course I had no place to question that, and so left it alone.

  They came back to me later to confess that whilst they had indeed prayed with tears for something that they wanted, they couldn't say that it was genuinely directed to anyone they knew, outwith certain names being used in the prayer.

  Now I'm not suggesting by that that God doesn't hear prayers because they aren't addressed just right. I'm only suggesting that the idea of a relationship with their God isn't actually something the average JW thinks too much about. If they "pray using the right name, surely it get's there" and that's relationship enough if I'm "doing what the WTS tells me I need to do", seems to be the general consensus, and once that door is shut by the WTS because of some infraction, there is simply little left.

  I'm not trying to paint a rule here, as it's just a general observation and people are as individual as their fingerprints...