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Is practicing bloodless medicine as simple as just donating my own blood before surgery?
I am not a Jehovah's Witness. Can I still Particpate in Bloodless
Medicine Program at Georgetown? The program is open to anyone who wishes
to avoid transfusions and be part of that program.
We have you meet with our nurse coordinator and go over the consent form
that lays out exactly what types of blood products you will or will not accept
and as there is a whole blood and there is a different components of blood that gets
broken down that we use in different ways, the plasma part of blood and that can
include albumin which helps expand a volume expander so that you have,
you maintain your blood pressure and there is different components that can come from
blood itself platelets for instance to help to prevent bleeding and so anyone can
participate in that and go over those forums and then be part of that the
difference is you can even say that at certain point you would accept the
transfusion you know that is always an option if that is what you desire.
But anyone is you know can be officially part of that program and get the benefits
of that program. How has the Bloodless Medicine Program
been received by patients? It has been received very well.
I think what is most important is it gives patients who often feel alienated
and when they approach the medical world and the procedures done because they you
know have a religious belief that is very important to them and many physicians
and hospitals aren't that open to treating patients when they have that restriction
of not being able to do a transfusion and what we have seen our patients are happy
to have a place that understands that need and it is not an issue it is just it
is more specifically trying to work with patients around bloodless medicine and we
sort of have that off the table as an issue and so they are welcome.
Is practicing bloodless medicine as simple as just donating my own blood before surgery?
Well that is a procedure that we have used for many years in my area especially which
is hip and knee replacements and the idea behind that is that you can donate blood
approximately 3 weeks in advance and then your body replaces it and then during
surgery when you lose blood we can give you back the blood that you donated
and that avoids that lowers the need for transfusions in most cases and if not
actually eliminating the need for transfusions. The Jehovah's Witness Community does not
accept that what is called autologous blood donation based on their religious
beliefs so that is not an option that we have in that community so therefore we
have to use many of the types and procedures that we have talked about
before but for the general population that is one of the techniques that we use.