Anaes SAQs · Ethics, consent & medicolegal
The Jehovah's Witness patient and the blood refusal
Final SAQ — the autonomy and the binding refusal (the JW card); the respect and the transfusion-free technique (the cell salvage with the continuous loop, the ANH, the erythropoietin, the iron, the antifibrinolytics, the meticulous haemostasis, the MDT); the child's different rule; the documentation.
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Prompt
Discuss the ethical and the anaesthetic management of the adult Jehovah's Witness patient who refuses the blood products, presenting for the major surgery with the bleeding risk.
Question
Discuss the ethical and the anaesthetic management of the adult Jehovah's Witness patient who refuses the blood products, presenting for the major surgery with the bleeding risk.
References4ShowHide
- [2]Piekarski F, et al. Perioperative blood management in Jehovah's Witnesses. Die Anaesthesiologie, 2026.PMID 42081097
- [4]Rajewska A, et al. The Jehovah's Witness obstetric patient: a literature review. Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther, 2019.PMID 31893605
- [3]Bolcato M, et al. The clinical and medico-legal aspects of transfusion-free treatment. J Clin Med, 2025.PMID 40807065
- [42081098]Bersten AD, Soni N (eds) Oh's Intensive Care Manual. 8th edition, Elsevier, 2018.