I just finished watching the WTS new video - "Transfusion Alternative Health Care". This is very sophisticated propaganda and a real piece of work. The organization is trying to equate "blood conservation therapy" with their own irrational blood policy. One major difference is that "blood conservation medicine has the safety net of life saving blood transfusions when necessary. The WTS blood policy has a safety net full of holes, thus many JWs exsanguinate or are forced to discontinue their chemotherapy or simply pass on crucially needed surgery when transfusion alternatives are exhausted or not available.
It's not clear whether this video targets JWs or physicians but its slick and professional. They spin matters to make it appear they have the high ground ethically! However, many physicians and practically all medical ethicists, have a good grasp of the issues following the extensive series of articles published in the "Journal of Medical Ethics."
The video focuses almost exclusively on elective surgery with only a brief mention of trauma and no mention hematological disorders. These are the big killers in the JW community. There is quite a bit of time spent discussing EPO, cell salvage, volume expanders, and other techniques to reduce blood loss. Discussion of the importance of pre-operative care is positive. JW patients, congregation elders and physicians need to see the necessity of not allowing JWs, especially the elderly, to become anemic in the first place. Since much of the surgery that is performed is elective, it is a simple matter to treat the anemia with iron, EPO, etc ahead of time. The video encourages older JWs to accept use of cell salvage - also a positive.
As we would expect, there is no mention of the controversy surrounding the WTS partial ban on blood. No mention of HemoPure or PolyHeme which are both being used by JWs in facilities where these products are being evaluated in FDA trials. Also, there is no mention of those JWs who feel coerced into supporting WT polices on blood products that make no sense to them.
Clearly, WT officials have some fight left in them on this issue. The recent situation in Canada with the 16-year old with Leukemia also demonstrates that. The video could be a useful piece of evidence for WTS lawyers to introduce in future wrongful death cases in order to demonstrate that the organization did in fact sincerely believe in its blood policy.
I see nothing here that alters my basic view of what is taking place inside the WTS with the blood issue. It is being systematically disassembled at a snails pace to protect corporate assets. The next hurdle will be trying to convince the rank and file JW that a transfusion of HemoPure or PolyHeme is not a blood transfusion but rather an "oxygen therapeutic" or something to that effect.
This, in my view, is nothing short of deception and demonstrates gross disregard for the lives of those JWs who are right now refusing medically necessary transfusion of red cells. Red cells are nothing more than tiny donut shaped bags of hemoglobin. If a JW can accept hemoglobin (HemoPure or PolyHeme), they should be able to accept red cells. It is insanity - pure and simple.