"Other Hospitals Turned Him Down"

[George K]

Every couple of months I get a newsletter from one of the local hospitals. This afternoon, the newsletter was from the University of Chicago Hospitals, "At the Forefront of Medicine."

(when I worked at the other university, we joked they were at the the "fore-" of something else)

But, I digress.

So, this was the cover of today's newsletter:

"Bloodless Heart Surgery," eh?

I assumed, correctly, that this patient was a Jehovah's Witness. I've done hearts on JW patients, and though not as easy as the routine CABG, it's certainly doable with proper preparation, etc.

Here's the first page of the story:

My knowledge of JW is pretty scant, other than when they say "no blood" they mean "no blood."

After that, it gets a bit murky.

Some will not permit their blood to leave their body and be returned. So, obviously an autologous blood transfusion is out of the question. Some will permit the blood to leave the body, if it remains in continuity with the rest of the blood in the body, so putting them on cardiopulmonary bypass is fine - it's one big loop.

But, do they accept tissue from other people? Are transplants OK for JWs?

Remember when the use of porcine valves was controversial in the Jewish population?

What about JWs?