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New research in the USA shows that Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions recover from heart surgery faster and with fewer complications than those who have transfusions. Patients who are Jehovah's Witnesses had better survival rates, shorter hospital stays, fewer additional operations for bleeding and spent fewer days in the intensive care unit than those who received blood trans­fusions during surgery, a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows. http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2012/07/refusal-of-blood-transfusions-by-jehovahs-witnesses-not-always-detrimental-research-finds

Our reasons are not medical but spiritual, but this information is interesting from Tuesday's Daily Mail UK "Good Health" section: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5169611/Experts-think-blood-transfusions-harmful.html .....With around two million transfusions a year performed on the National Health Service UK, there are fears that what some experts call doctors’ ‘love of blood’ has gone too far, potentially endangering patients with transfusions that are unnecessary — an estimated one in five cases.... ...Concerns over the safety of blood from strangers were highlighted recently by a Dutch study that suggested men given transfusions during surgery were 50 per cent more likely to die within hours of an operation if the blood had been donated by a woman who’d ever been pregnant...The results are potentially alarming because — other than blood type — donor details are never disclosed at the time of a transfusion.Scientists think one explanation may be that infection-fighting cells called antibodies, acquired by women during pregnancy to protect their baby in the womb, may trigger a fatal immune system reaction in some men. And there are other safety concerns to do with the use of stored blood. Studies show an increased risk of infections, including pneumonia, among patients given a stranger’s blood stored in bags for a month or more at 4c. One theory behind why this occurs is that red blood cells this old may be less resilient than those in fresh blood and get broken down more quickly when pumped into the body. When this happens, they release large amounts of iron — a major source of energy for bacteria. Another concern is that storing blood may trigger biochemical changes that are potentially harmful. Some studies suggest that red blood cells release toxic enzymes that would normally be flushed out of the body through waste products, but instead accumulate in stored blood. Stored red blood cells can also lose their smooth, disc-like shape and become more pointed and spiky — making it harder for them to move through the bloodstream, depriving vital organs of their oxygen payload. But using fresh blood may not be the answer. A 2015 University of Edinburgh study looked at deaths among 2,500 anaemic patients on intensive care wards who were either given blood a week old or blood almost a month old. The results, published in the journal Blood, found no difference in deaths in the three months after treatment. ...Over the years, the use of donated red blood cells has increasingly been extended from treating catastrophic bleeding into routine surgery. Some experts say this is due to surgeons using ‘precautionary’ transfusions, for added security, ..., even if there has been no or minimal blood loss.Controlling anaemia is crucial, as patients with low haemoglobin levels are 42 per cent more likely to die in the 30 days after an operation than those with normal levels. A healthy man usually has haemoglobin of 13.5 to 17.5 grams per 100 ml of blood and a woman 11.5 to 15.5g. If levels drop below 5g — typically as a result of blood loss during surgery — the risk to a patient dramatically increases. But studies show most surgeons transfuse blood at the first hint of anaemia, when haemoglobin readings are still 10g or higher. Some experts fear this is putting patients at risk. ...But transfusions do kill people. The current data shows transfusion is not the most appropriate solution to the management of anaemia. The main risk is transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO), where too much blood is pumped into the circulatory system too quickly, putting the heart under strain as it tries to pump the additional fluid round the body. Figures collated by Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) — a body funded by blood and transplant services from all four parts of the UK — found that in 2016, there were 26 reported deaths where transfusions were implicated. At least 14 were due to TACO. Another problem is mistakes, such as patients being given the wrong blood type. Around 10 per cent of 1,027 adverse events reported to SHOT last year were due to human error from heavy workload or inadequate staffing. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has issued guidance calling for better treatment of anaemia before patients go to theatre — reducing the need for transfusions. It wants doctors to give more surgery patients with anaemia a medicine called tranexamic acid, a relatively cheap and effective drug that reduces blood loss by at least a third; NICE estimates the drug is currently used in as few as 10 per cent of surgery cases where anaemia is present. Professor Richards, meanwhile, is spearheading a major trial across 40 hospitals in the UK involving a different approach. It is recruiting around 400 patients due for major elective surgery and identified in advance as having iron-deficiency anaemia, the most common reason for a low red blood cell count. Anaemic patients are often advised to take iron tablets or eat iron-rich foods such as red meat and green, leafy vegetables before surgery to bump up their levels. But Professor Richards says dietary iron is absorbed slowly, and it can take six to nine months for it to boost haemoglobin to healthy levels.In the trial, these patients will be injected with high doses of iron — the equivalent of a year’s iron in the diet — around a week before their operation. He expects the trial, which finishes in 2018, will reduce NHS use of blood transfusions by at least 15 per cent, saving around £35 million a year. NHS Blood and Transplant told Good Health that it is rolling out a programme of ‘patient blood management’ — or limited use of transfusions — across the health service in England. It says it will lead to fewer complications, faster recovery and shorter stays in hospital." (my comment: I wonder if their findings and results have been aided by our HLC's and dealing with us for surgery in hospital. So many times over the years I have heard our brothers and sisters saying that they were well enough to leave hospital long before many others on the same wards, having the same treatment, but the others were having transfusions)

In the BBC medical drama series "Holby City" this week (series 19, episode 39) entitled "Keeping The Faith", the storyline mentions a widower and his daughter who are both JWs. The daughter needs an operation that the grandfather (who is a consultant surgeon in the same hospital) insists needs a blood transfusion, whilst the father and his daughter obviously require the operation without blood. On the whole I feel it portrayed us in a positive light and was quite realistic. I liked how the surgeon consulted not only with the father but with the daughter (by herself) to ask what she really believed and wanted. The surgeon mentioned something called HAS (Human Albumin Solution). I had never heard of it before so I checked online and as far as I can see, it's a component that comes from the plasma. Here's the official guide that comes with one of these HAS medicines: http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/PIL.22494.latest.pdf Attached is the GIF I made of the parts relating to JWs from this episode:

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/health/Hartford-Hospital-Saves-Man_s-Life-With-Bloodless-Transplant_New-York-418690263.html We have experienced decades of successful operations without blood. Even the military is using the methods used with our brothers and sisters. So, Russia is saying in their court hearing that we are extremists because we don't accept blood transfusions?

A new section on our website: Medical-Library (It can be found at the bottom of the Home page at - FIND RESOURCES FOR)

This enquiry into the problem of people in Scotland suffering and dying as a result of contaminated blood products began in 2011: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12674052 The results are being considered now: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3010488/Contaminated-blood-probe-report.html http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/scotland/article1534721.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2015_03_21 HUNDREDS of patients in Scotland who received contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s are poised to launch fresh compensation claims against the UK and Scottish governments. Nearly 5,000 people were exposed to hepatitis C before the heat treating of blood products began in the mid-1980s to kill viruses. They were mainly haemophiliacs who were given a product to help their blood clot. Of these, more than 1,200 were also infected with HIV. About 2,000 have since died as a result.

This is in the news today here in Australia, as you can imagine it has given many people ammunition to attack our faith and many misinformed people are upset by this, it always makes me angry to read the horrible comments, I just want to get in there and defend Jehovah but I know it will turn bad. Why do people refuse to even go to our website and get all the facts it's so sad, they are accusing us of not even being Christian, poor Jehovah. https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/26997728/jehovah-witness-mum-to-be-dies-after-refusing-blood-transfusion/?cmp=fb

This story caught my eye. A ban on gay men donating blood in Ireland is under review. http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/gay-mens-blood-ban-under-review-minister-confirms-653820.html

This two year old article just showed up in one of my email alerts. It is well worth printing out and showing people. A long time friend of mine is going to undergo surgery this week, and I am praying for him, and ask all of you to do the same. http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/jehovah-s-witness-heart-patients-do-well-without-blood-transfusions-1.1222466Jehovah's Witnesses, whose religious beliefs prohibit them from having blood transfusions, had fewer complications and shorter hospital stays than other heart patients who had transfusions for surgery over a 28-year period at Cleveland Clinic, a new study concludes.

(I've never started a topic before so I hope I followed all the rules on links, etc!) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10765132/Artificial-blood-will-be-manufactured-in-factories.html Obviously true global industrial-level production of blood would still be years in the future, but it looks like human testing is expected to begin by 2016: (Excerpt from article): Prof Turner has devised a technique to culture red blood cells from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells – cells that have been taken from humans and ‘rewound’ into stem cells. Biochemical conditions similar to those in the human body are then recreated to induce the iPS cells to mature into red blood cells – of the rare universal blood type O-. “Although similar research has been conducted elsewhere, this is the first time anybody has manufactured blood to the appropriate quality and safety standards for transfusion into a human being,” said Prof Turner. There are plans in place for the trial to be concluded by late 2016 or early 2017, he said. It will most likely involve the treatment of three patients with Thalassaemia, a blood disorder requiring regular transfusions. The behaviour of the manufactured blood cells will then be monitored. “The cells will be safe,” he said, adding that there are processes whereby cells can be removed. The technique highlights the prospect of a limitless supply of manufactured type O- blood, free of disease and compatible with all patients. If and when the time comes, I'm sure the Governing Body will provide us clear guidance on how manufactured blood made from adult stem cells fits into our stance on blood, but right now my head is spinning just thinking about it! It's not time to update our proxies yet, but we might have to someday.

Too Much Blood Researchers fear the 'gift of life' may sometimes endanger it BY SHARON KIRKEY, POSTMEDIA NEWS JULY 13, 2013 http://www.theprovince.com/health/Much+Blood/8657625/story.html

This is something new for Vancouver BC... Over the years all the newspapers ever printed was.... Only .. Positive things about blood transfusions.. Health experts confront the hidden hazards of blood transfusions BY SHARON KIRKEY, POSTMEDIA NEWS JULY 12, 2013 http://www.theprovince.com/health/Health+experts+confront+hidden+hazards+blood+transfusions/8652246/story.html