Posts by justpassing

71

Do "Thousands of JWs die each year" because they refuse blood? I say YES!

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.freeminds.org/blogs/musings-of-a-watchtower-insider/thousands-die-each-year.htm l. this blog article is solely my personal opinion, but i have tried to present important material for your consideration because i believe that one life lost to this blood-ban is one too many and there have too many deaths since 1945 and it's time something is done about it.

however you think on the subject, just wait until you read the conclusion of my blog article.

oh, by the way, all points of view are important to me and most welcome so i look forward to reading them here on jwn .

justpassing

I wonder how many people die each year BECAUSE of blood transfusion?

Maybe you could have a look at that Barbara.

http://www.jonbarron.org/heart-health-program/05-12-2008.php

Blood transfusions have been used as a standard medical procedure for over 100 years. And now it turns out they may be responsible for many millions of unnecessary deaths worldwide during that time. How could this be? Unlike alternative health, modern medicine is based on science -- not anecdotal evidence. So why didn't all those scientific studies on blood transfusions figure out that blood transfusions are, at best, an iffy proposition that should be reserved only for the most dire of emergencies?

The answer is quite simple. Until recently, there were no studies either supporting or negating blood transfusions -- or at least none that the medical community paid attention to.

43

How miserable are Witless Kids REALLY?

by hamsterbait in

jw
friends

25 years ago i lived in an apartment overlooking the grounds of the local high school.. at the time i still totally believed the lie.

a lot of the dub students went to my hell.. i noticed looking out my window, that the witless kids always looked miserable and isolated.

yet in the kingdumb hell they would behave almost euphorically.. what was going on?.

justpassing

I had a happy childhood and so did (as far as I could tell) the other Witness kids I knew.

These kinds of things depend on much more that just the religion you belong to.

To blame your "miserable" childhoods on just the religion is wrong. I don't buy it.

What your parents were like is probably more important than the religion. Strict, moderate or soft – it makes a big difference, even for non-religious families.

Strict + Religious, now that's asking for trouble.

For me, my Dad was moderate (most dads are, imo) and as for my mother, well, I could of (probably) got away with murder.

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart...."

My advice to some of you here, is instead of wallowing in self-pity, take a few moments to think about the millions of children in the world who really do have dreadful childhoods - many who, for various reasons, will never make it to teenage years let alone adulthood.

Mike.

35

Doesn't the WTS say that blood can't carry oxygen for the first 24 hours after a transfusion?

by Olin Moyles Ghost in

some jws have told me that blood transfusions cannot save lives in the case of catastrophic bleeding (for example, resulting from an auto accident) because blood cannot carry oxygen for 24 hours after it has been transfused.

is this in print in wt publications?

it must be, because i've heard it on multiple occasions from different jws.. i find it very hard to believe that such a statement is true.

justpassing

@MsDucky"I'm going to have to bone-up on blood transfusions again. I guess new stuff is coming out."

Yes, excellent idea, I recommend that to everyone. Lots of new studies are being published (see the latest one below). Don't forget to checkout http://www.noblood.org/ for lastest news and discussion regarding this topic.

@Gerard

"Nobody gives a packed cell transfusion just for fun."

No, of course not.

Published Study Demonstrates Patients with Low Hemoglobin Levels Can be Managed Without Blood Transfusions

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/published-study-demonstrates-patients-with-low-hemoglobin-levels-can-be-managed-without-blood-transfusions-2010-02-18?reflink=MW_news_stmp

You also mentioned something about financial gain. Remember that blood itself is a billion $ business. Blood banks do very well out of their "excesses over expenses". Would it really surprise anyone if profit is being put before people?

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/selling-blood-is-big-business-713104.html

http://blogfreetv.com/blogs/cbs-news/46564/blood-bloodless-surgery-news/

M.

35

Doesn't the WTS say that blood can't carry oxygen for the first 24 hours after a transfusion?

by Olin Moyles Ghost in

some jws have told me that blood transfusions cannot save lives in the case of catastrophic bleeding (for example, resulting from an auto accident) because blood cannot carry oxygen for 24 hours after it has been transfused.

is this in print in wt publications?

it must be, because i've heard it on multiple occasions from different jws.. i find it very hard to believe that such a statement is true.

justpassing

Lucky Mom.

One other thing to mention is that the majority of transfusions given in surgery, usually between 1-2 units, has been found to be inappropriate. A study showed that in two large groups of patients, the blood either had no benefit at all (wasting blood supply), or resulted in negitive outcomes (heart attack, stroke, lung injury, infection and kidney failure, and death).

Hemorrhaging/trauma is a different story, this appears to be the only group of patients to actually benefit from blood. It's this type of thing we need to keep plenty of fresh stock for, and try to use alternatives and better blood conservation methods for other patient groups. That said, I've recently heard that even hem/trauma can now be treated with alternative methods, although, training up medical professionals in all these methods takes time and money.

Group Questions Appropriateness of Most Blood Transfusions

http://www.medpagetoday.com/HospitalBasedMedicine/Hospitalists/13869

Mike.

35

Doesn't the WTS say that blood can't carry oxygen for the first 24 hours after a transfusion?

by Olin Moyles Ghost in

some jws have told me that blood transfusions cannot save lives in the case of catastrophic bleeding (for example, resulting from an auto accident) because blood cannot carry oxygen for 24 hours after it has been transfused.

is this in print in wt publications?

it must be, because i've heard it on multiple occasions from different jws.. i find it very hard to believe that such a statement is true.

justpassing

FYI,

“We are only now starting to realize what happens to blood when it is drawn out of a human body and sent to the blood bank for storage. Blood undergoes changes profoundly, even in the first 24 hours. The major effect is loss of nitric oxide, which is really fundamental to the process of oxygen exchange.” - Dr. Sunil Rao, Duke assistant professor of medicine, Durham VA Medical Center.

Transfused blood, void of nitric oxide, sucks up nitric oxide from the tissues of the patient. This causes blood vessel constriction, reduces blood flow, which then may cause heart attack or stroke. Other problems with older blood, affect the immune system of patients. Patients receiving transfusion during surgery, often spend much longer in hospital recovering compared to those who manage to avoid transfusion.

"Nitric Oxide does everything, everywhere. You cannot name a major cellular response or physiological effect in which Nitric Oxide is not implicated today. It's involved in complex behavioural changes in the brain, airway relaxation, beating of the heart, dilation of blood vessels, regulation of intestinal movement, function of blood cells, the immune system, even how fingers and arms move." - Dr. Jonathan S. Stamler, Professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center

Dr Stamler also feels that blood transfusion should be a last resort. "If I am bleeding very, very badly and my blood counts are very, very low, I would want a transfusion," Stamler says. "But I would also want a thoughtful physician by my side having to make that decision in a thoughtful way."

Video of Stamler talking about missing Nitric Oxide in stored blood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwjNOu4Asiw

Note:

That video was dated 2007, from what I know, nothing so far as been done to stored blood to infuse nitric oxide - the problem remains (22/2/2010). I know there is ongoing research and increasing pressure on the FDA to change its policy on the length of time blood is allowed to be stored. The longer it's stored (>14 days) the more useless & dangerous it becomes to patients. Current policy is 42days.

Also see article

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=&type=&article_id=218393004

http://www.noblood.org

Thanks,

Mike.