NOT on JW.org Jehovah's Witness Doctor refuses Blood Transfusion for dying non-JW patientPregnant woman passes away mid-operation as Jehovah’s Witness doctor refuses blood transfusion

by Balaamsass2 9 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  Balaamsass2

  5/10/25 This story from Nigeria is a twist. The DOCTOR is the JW!

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  Pregnant woman passes away mid-operation as Jehovah’s Witness doctor refuses blood transfusion

  Muhammed HammedMay 10, 2025

  
  

  
  

  Pregnant woman passes away mid-operation as Jehovah’s Witness doctor refuses blood transfusion

  A Nigerian man, Chris Adams, has taken to Facebook to mourn the tragic loss of his pregnant wife, Victoria Paris, who reportedly passed away during childbirth after a woman, a doctor allegedly refused to conduct a life-saving blood transfusion due to religious beliefs.

  In a heart-wrenching post, Adams narrated that his wife, who was seven months pregnant, began experiencing abdominal pains and was rushed to Standard Maternity Clinic in the Borokiri Church Hill area of Port Harcourt.

  According to him, the hospital had previously handled the delivery of their other children, but this time, the situation took a different turn.

  He revealed that while the Caesarean section (CS) was successful, his wife lost a significant amount of blood and required an urgent transfusion.

  However, the doctor reportedly declined to carry out the transfusion, citing her faith as a Jehovah’s Witness, which discourages the practice.

  Adams also criticized the hospital’s operating conditions, claiming that power supply was lost during the surgery, and the medical team scrambled to start the generator mid-operation.

  He alleged that the family was misled into signing consent for the operation and blamed the doctor’s religious beliefs for his wife’s death.

  His full statement reads:

  “We lost our beloved to the cold hands of death. My beloved was 7 months pregnant and started feeling pains in her stomach. She was rushed to Standard Maternity Clinic here in Port Harcourt at Borokiri Church Hill.”

  “To be honest, it was at this hospital she gave birth to her other children, but this case was different. She gave birth through CS — I mean operation.”

  “The doctor ran an operation on her, which was successful, but my beloved lost a lot of blood and needed blood to support her life.”

  “But the doctor said she doesn’t do that in her hospital because she is a religious person (Jehovah’s Witness).”

  “First, you forget your religion before running a hospital.”

  “Second, you run an operation in your hospital with Nigerian NEPA light, which failed during the operation before they started running to put on the generator. My beloved was killed by the doctor’s religious belief.”

  “The family was tricked to sign for the operation because of their selfish interest. Victoria Paris, we miss you. I NEED JUSTICE FOR MY BELOVED.”

  SEE POST:

  https://www.gistreel.com/pregnant-woman-passes-away-mid-operation-as-jehovahs-witness-doctor-refuses-blood-transfusion/

  
  
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  Earnest

  There seems to be more involved here. According to The Trumpet

  Investigations revealed that the so-called hospital was operating without proper licensing, infrastructure, or qualified medical personnel. Originally registered to provide basic maternity care, the facility had illegally expanded [from a 3-bedroom apartment] into a six-bed clinic performing surgical procedures, including caesarean sections without medical oversight.

  Dr. Hope Avundaa, spokesperson for the state’s Anti-Quackery Committee, confirmed that the facility was run by auxiliary nurses with no legal authority or training to carry out medical surgeries. “This was a ticking time bomb,” she said. “No certified medical personnel were present, and the environment was completely unsuitable for any form of surgical procedure.”

  So while the person attending to Victoria Paris may have been a JW, she was no doctor.
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  NotFormer

  It's a bit hard to follow what's going on here. Was the lady unaware of the no blood stance of the "doctor"? Did she not sign various consent forms? Did the issue of blood not come up in pre-admission conversations?

  It seems a bit rich for the "doctor" to turn around and say "Sorry, we don't do that!" , at the vital moment. Of course, as a quack, she might not have access to the right resources anyway.
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  blondie

  I was told by an elder on the HLC (is that what it is now) that many jws don't tell their physician until they are rolling down the hall on a gurney. Makes it difficult for the HLC to suddenly have the jw say they don't accept blood. Seems like they are being influenced at that time. Partly why the WTS started the "blood card" process. And continues to tell jws to get the HLC involved right away. I had a copy of my HCPOA given to my primary physician, my clinic file, my hospital. Then I had to redo it when I left. Hospitals that I was in, had a clear form you had to sign and explained it. Don't want a lawsuit. I don't know why wires got crossed. Sounds like this is a bigger problem.
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  Earnest

  blondie : Sounds like this is a bigger problem.

  I think so. First of all, a report alleges that "the facility operated without a licensed doctor or nurse, performed surgeries in a poorly equipped environment, and lacked any semblance of a sterilization unit or Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) standards". Seems a recipe for disaster.

  Secondly, its alleged that the clinic was "using electricity from the public grid to conduct the operation" and the "electricity went off during the [c-section] operation and they had to rush to put on generating set."

  Finally, there seems some confusion whether it was the woman who died who was a JW and so the staff refused to transfuse blood on the strength of the consent she had signed, reported here, or whether it was the owner of the clinic who was a JW and refused transfusion.

  The reason I entertain this alternative version is that the clinic had already delivered two of her children so must have been operating for several years. It seems unlikely to me that this would be the first time a blood transfusion was required, especially as they were performing caesarean sections. Also, in the reports which quote the medical authorities who subsequently closed down the place, none of them refer to refusal to perform a transfusion. This allegation came from a FB post by her partner after she died. I also don't discount the possibility that both the woman who died and the owner of the clinic were JWs, which would account for the confusion.
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  StephaneLaliberte

  Just to clarify, it's not because someone says, "I don't want or accept blood transfusions due to my faith as a Jehovah's Witness," that they are necessarily a JW. I've seen plenty of people claim to be Jehovah's Witnesses without actually being so.

  Still, that doesn't change the fact that the no-blood doctrine, as taught by the Jehovah's Witnesses, very likely led to that poor woman's death—regardless of whether the physician was a JW in good standing or not.

  Obviously, someone performing surgery without meeting the proper legal requirements is squarely in the wrong.
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  Incognito

  My impression is only the person performing the C-section was the JW (not necessarily the 'maternity clinic's' owner), and she made a unilateral decision that no-blood transfusion would be performed as she considered administering a BT would be in conflict with her religious beliefs.

  The woman who died, was taken to the clinic in an emergency situation due to abdominal pain while only 7-months pregnant.

  Perhaps neither she nor her husband had previously met or spoken with the person who performed the C-section, to know that refusal of a BT was even a possibility. It seems, refusal of a BT had not been clearly stated in the documents signed by the patient or patient's husband.

  The wording of the husband's statement and Facebook posting, suggested a blood transfusion would have been accepted, if the 'doctor' had made that available.

  Was blood even readily available if needed at this unlicensed 'maternity clinic'? Probably not!
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  Bangalore

  Very sad.
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  Biahi

  My daughter spent one semester of her senior year in Zambia. Graduated RN, BSN, magna cum laude. (Proud mom, sorry). While in Zambia, they worked in pairs, providing help in the hospital where needed. Pre natal care is mostly non existent, but women in labor often walked into the hospital to give birth. My daughter and her partner, who with the group of about 20 young women who also went to Zambia, were given an 8 hour course, called, Helping Babies Breathe.

  Zambia does not have enough doctors to staff hospitals, most doctors there are Christian missionaries who work out in the field, and come to the hospital twice a week, to perform scheduled surgeries. Which leaves nurses to run the hospital. A woman gave birth there, with my daughter and her partner assisting the Zambian nurses. A baby was born not breathing, and the Zambian nurses lamented this, declaring that it was a shame the baby was not breathing. They assumed the baby would die. My daughter and her partner, armed with the course they had just finished, used the techniques they learned to save this baby, who went home with his mother, perfectly fine. Afterwards, the student nurses made step by step instructions on posters for the Zambian nurses, so if this happened in the future, they could follow these procedures to save more infants lives.

  My point in this story is, partly, that hospitals in Africa are not like our modern hospitals, these are 3rd world countries, with sub par staff, and sub par equipment. I’m sure they lose more people than in our American, Australian, or European hospitals.

  s
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  Anony Mous

  Doctors train for all sorts of events. Power goes out in Western hospitals as well, all the time actually. Yes, they have generators but that takes seconds to minutes to kick in.

  No license - how do you square that with your JW belief, your conscience was good with accepting money on false pretenses but not with giving blood to a “worldly person”?