RELIEVING LEGAL CONCERNS You may wonder, 'Why are some doctors and hospitals quick to get a court order to give blood?' In some places a common reason is fear of liability. There is no basis for such concern when Jehovah's Witnesses choose nonblood management. A doctor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (U.S.A.) writes: "Most [Witnesses] readily sign the American Medical Association form relieving physicians and hospitals of liability, and many carry a Medical Alert [card]. A properly signed and dated 'Refusal to Accept Blood Products' form is a contractual agreement and is legally binding."—Anesthesiology News, October 1989. Yes, Jehovah's Witnesses cooperatively offer legal assurance that a physician or hospital will not incur liability in providing requested nonblood therapy. As recommended by medical experts, each Witness carries a Medical Document card. This is renewed annually and is signed by the person and by witnesses, often his next of kin. In March 1990, the Supreme Court of Ontario, Canada, upheld a decision that commented approvingly on such a document: "The card is a written declaration of a valid position which the card carrier may legitimately take in imposing a written restriction on [the] contract with the doctor." In Medicinsk Etik (1985), Professor Daniel Andersen wrote: "If there is an unambiguous written statement from the patient saying that he is one of Jehovah's Witnesses and does not want blood under any circumstances, respect for the patient's autonomy requires that this wish be respected, just as if it had been expressed orally." Witnesses will also sign hospital consent forms. One used at a hospital in Freiburg, Germany, has space where the physician can describe the information he gave the patient about the treatment. Then, above the signatures of the physician and the patient, this form adds: "As a member of the religious body of Jehovah's Witnesses, I categorically refuse the use of foreign blood or blood components during my surgery. I am aware that the planned and needed procedure thus has a higher risk due to bleeding complications. After receiving thorough explanation particularly about that, I request that the needed surgery be performed without using foreign blood or blood components."—Herz Kreislauf, August 1987. Actually, nonblood management may have a lower risk. But the point here is that Witness patients happily relieve any needless concerns so that medical personnel can move forward in doing what they are committed to do, helping people get well. This cooperation benefits all, as Dr. Angelos A. Kambouris showed in "Major Abdominal Operations on Jehovah's Witnesses": "Preoperative agreement should be viewed as binding by the surgeon and should be adhered to regardless of events developing during and after operation. [This] orients the patients positively toward their surgical treatment, and diverts the surgeon's attention from the legal and philosophical considerations to the surgical and technical ones, thus, allowing him to perform optimally and serve his patient's best interests."—The American Surgeon, June 1987. | 
