Japan's Watchtower cult crackdown 'Under 15s must be given transfusions despite beliefs'
The Daily Yomiuri, Japan - 9 minutes ago
The joint committee started discussing the refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses in response to requests from doctors who have said they are ...
Jehovah's Witness shuns blood, diesThe Japan Times
all 2 news articles » 'Under 15s must be given transfusions despite beliefs'
The Daily Yomiuri, Japan - 8 minutes ago
The joint committee started discussing the refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses in response to requests from doctors who have said they are
'Under 15s must be given transfusions despite beliefs' The Yomiuri Shimbun A committee comprised of the country's five medical societies has compiled a draft guideline that stipulates doctors should perform a blood transfusion during surgery on patients under 15 years of age even if their parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and refuse it because of a Biblical injunction, it was learned Saturday. The joint committee started discussing the refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses in response to requests from doctors who have said they are troubled about prioritizing either religious freedom or respect for life. The committee judged that refusing a blood donation for children under 15 who are considered to be immature in terms of their self-determination capabilities constitutes an abuse of parental rights. The joint committee is comprised of the country's major medical societies--the Japan Society of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Japan Surgical Society, Japan Pediatric Society, Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists and Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The committee said it would finalize the common guideline agreed by the five societies this year after hearing opinions from followers of the religious group and bioethicists at a symposium to be held at Tokyo Medical and Dental University on Saturday. Medical institutions belonging to the five societies are expected to compile their own manuals in line with the guideline. To deal with the refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses, a similar guideline compiled in 1998 by the Japan Society of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy--then known as the Japan Society of Blood Transfusion--stipulates that doctors should respect a patient's wishes if he or she is 18 or older. If a patient is aged under 12, however, it said doctors should prioritize saving lives, including performing a blood transfusion during surgery, even if the child's parents are against the transfusion. The guideline, however, presents no specific rule in those cases in which a patient is aged between 12 and 17, because the committee had considered that people in this age bracket are still in their formative years and thus their decision-making ability varies. The latest draft guideline sets 15 years of age--the age at which children finish mandatory education--as the age the committee considers children can independently make a decision about medical treatment. In the case of patients aged from 15 to 17, the draft guideline said that a blood transfusion should not be performed if both the patient and their parents reject it. The transfusion would be conducted if the patient in this age bracket requests it, but his or her parent refuses. The transfusion also will be given if the patient rejects it but his or her parents accept it. (Jun. 24, 2007) |
3 Jehovah's Witnesses member dies after refusing blood transfusion click for comments Japan Today - Jun 19 3:02 PM OSAKA — A member of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect died recently after losing a lot of blood when giving birth by cesarean and refusing a blood transfusion, officials at Osaka Medical College revealed Tuesday.
NATIONAL Jehovah's Witnesses member dies after refusing blood transfusion
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 07:01 EDT OSAKA — A member of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect died recently after losing a lot of blood when giving birth by cesarean and refusing a blood transfusion, officials at Osaka Medical College revealed Tuesday. The hospital said it had agreed with the woman before the surgery that it would not transfuse any blood to her. Although she bled copiously after delivering her child in May, doctors at the hospital only took steps to arrest the hemorrhage. She died several days later, according to the hospital. A hospital official said, "We briefed her about the danger involving the surgery and we repeatedly urged her family to accept a blood transfusion. But in the end we respected the patient's wishes."
William Miller 1843 chart Jehovah's Witnesses Millerite/Adventist sect spin-off
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