Medical Alternatives to Blood Transfusions

 LEADING experts from over 40 countries gathered in Moscow for the 60 Jubliee International Congress of  the European Society for Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery on May 20-22, 2011.  "For doctors, an event of this scale is as meaningful as are the Olymics for athletes," stated a Russian TV journalist.

Attracting great attention on all three days of the convention was a booth supplying information on medical alternatives to blood transfusions.  Hospital Information Services for Jehovah's Witnesses  (HIS0 staffed this booth.  From it, doctors eagerly took hundreds of information folders, books, DVD's, and medical articles of this important topic.  Demand was especially strong for the DVD featuring the video entitled Transfusion-Alternative Strategies-Simple, Safe, Effective.

Many doctors who visited the booth agreed that there is a need for blood conservation in Surgical practice.  A cardiac surgeon from Italy who spoke at the congress said that he is wlll acquainted with Jehovah's Witnesses and has successfully completed about 70 bloodless heart operations on Witness patients.  He also said that bloodless surgery is perfectly normal in his clinic.  A professor of the Dutsches Herzzentrum Berlin (German Heart Institute Berlin)  took a copyof   the DVD for himself and another for a colleague. He told the audience that he had recently performed bloodless surgery ona baby weighing just  5.5  pounds (2.5 kg); and his clinic  has performed heart surgery on babies weighing even less.

Next time:  Medical Alteratives to Blood Transfusions -Conclusion

From the jw.org publications