Some of the most vocal advocates for widespread blood-management programs, Nunes says, are Jehovah’s Witnesses, who number roughly 8 million worldwide. A core part of their faith is the refusal of blood transfusions, based on the Biblical commandment to “abstain from blood,” which they interpret to include both ingesting blood (e.g. eating meat with blood in it) and receiving it intravenously. In the past few decades, he says, Jehovah’s Witnesses have developed extensive medical-outreach programs to raise awareness of surgical techniques that align with their religious beliefs.
Nunes says he has interacted with Witnesses extensively over the years through his work with AABB, inviting church representatives to address AABB members at workshops and seminars.
“As a group of patients,” Nunes says, “Jehovah’s Witnesses are very well informed ... The way they have been able to organize and educate their community, and then to work with the medical community to make sure they know how to care for them, is really very impressive.”
“It really is a model for how a patient population with unique needs can really get serious about helping medical professionals meet them,” he adds
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931262/
[...SIPPET results also pose a dilemma for clinicians who are hesitant to return to pdFVIII because of the history of prior blood-borne infectious epidemics or the potential for new ones. Though current virucidal techniques to date have successfully mitigated the risk of emerging viruses (e.g. West Nile 46 and Zika 47virus), the risk posed by prions 48 and other unidentified infectious agents remains unknown. Preliminary data also suggest that EHL products may fare better for ITI , both for those who fail with rFVIII and as first-line therapy 22, 23.
In conclusion, clinicians face a litany of challenging choices for factor replacement. They are tasked with prioritizing convenience, cost, compliance, and safety without definitive ability to predict immune or product pharmacokinetic responses. Though it is tempting to “move backwards” to pdFVIII based upon SIPPET and improved viral inactivation techniques, the potential of a novel blood-borne pathogen epidemic should engender caution....]
[At least 18 people have died after contracting hepatitis C from blood transfusions in New Zealand hospitals, but lawyers say deaths are hard to trace and the number could be much higher.
More than 600 have been infected with the so-called bad blood.
...
But testing did not start until July 1992 (350,000 transfusions later) under then minister Simon Upton, who had resisted calls to resign over the issue. Two years later Mr Upton's successor in the portfolio, Jenny Shipley, ordered an inquiry to find those 350,000 patients, but said at the time that the issue of compensation was between any found to be infected and the Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation....]
https://www.latimes.com/news/local/cedars/la-me-cedars15jul15-vignettes,0,6345945,full.story Learning the truth, then facing it - Article about a girl who caught AIDS from transfusion
No longer available at that link. Can still access it here:
https://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/15/local/me-cedarssimeon15
https://library.thinkquest.org/10631/allabout/transfer.htm
Clotting Injections- Clotting injections, or the injection of protein factors required for clotting (so if you cut yourself you bleed to death) are required for hemophiliacs, or people who didn't have this protein. Unfortunantly, the injection contained particles and viruses from thousands of blood donors. In the early 1980's, the transmission of HIV was extremely high through these clotting injections. Now, also 75% of all hemophilics are HIV infected. The problem has since (in 1985) been fixed. It is now extemely unlikely that you would get HIV through an injection of this sort.
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/03/nyregion/hunt-to-begin-for-recipients-of-aids-blood-in-the-region.html?sec=health
HUNT TO BEGIN FOR RECIPIENTS OF AIDS BLOOD IN THE REGION
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-449253/2-000-deaths-doctors-ignored-HIV-blood-alerts.html
https://www.nytimes.com/keyword/blood-products
These sites have several links to articles on bloodless surgery and such"
https://godsviewofblood.blogspot.com/
https://www.getphpbb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=77&mforum=jw
One of the above links moved.
Blood Transfusions May Have Killed Millions
https://www.jonbarron.org/heart-health/problems-blood-transfusions
https://sofiaecho.com/2006/10/04/646630_bulgarians-and-romanians-poorly-informed-of-aids-danger#comments - BULGARIANS AND ROMANIANS POORLY INFORMED OF AIDS DANGER
https://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/bulgaria.html BULGARIA
B. HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS History and Current Status
“…..Regarding the geographical distribution of HIV-positive cases in the country, it is notable that the biggest concentration of infected people is found in the following cities: Sofia 65, and Burgas 59 ….
……..The WHO record ranks Bulgaria seventh of the ten countries most at risk of infection over the next 10 years. Based on the prognosis, if effective measures are taken now, the HIV epidemic could be contained in Bulgaria…..
In medical practice, blood products and invasive procedures pose the highest risk. Among the indirect factors are: lack of standards and good practices, and insufficient skills for diagnosis, consultation, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Some research supports the use of bloodless surgery, too. A 2012 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions after cardiac surgery are at no greater risk than people who had transfusions.
The research also found that Witnesses who underwent bloodless surgeries spent less time in the intensive care unit and less time in the hospital when compared to patients who had transfusions. They also had a higher survival rate at 95 percent, compared to the other group at 89 percent.
Thriftymaid 