HOW CAN BLOOD SAVE YOUR LIFE?

Conclusion of:YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

What about the use of blood?  No one who objectively examines the facts can deny that blood transfusions involve great risk.  Dr. Charles Huggins, who is the director of transfusion service at the large Massachusetts General Hospital, made this very clear:  "Blood has never been safer.  But it must be considered unavoidably unsafe. It is the most dangerous substance we use in medicine." -The Boston Globe  Magazine, February 4, 1990. 

With good reason, medical personnel have been advised:   "It is necessary to reevaluate as well as the risk part of the benefit/risk relationship for blood transfusion and to seek alternatives." -Preoperative Red Cell Transfusion, National Institutes of Health conference, June 27-29, 1988. 

Physicians may disagree as to the benefits or risks in using blood. One may give many transfusions and be convinced that they are worth the risk. Another may feel the risks are unjustified, for he has good results with non-blood management. Ultimately, however, you, the patient or the parent, must decide.  Why you? Because your (or your child's) body, life, ethics, and profoundly more important relationship with God are involved. 

Next time: HOW CAN BLOOD SAVE YOUR LIFE?/YOUR RIGHT IS RECOGNIZED

From the Watchtower magazine