"We all have a brain, we all have the same opportunities. Even surgeons are now seeing that bloodless surgery is more healthful. People who do not have blood recover quicker, and have a shorter convalescence period than those who do.
Before you say it, - I know from personal experience. Also I know many who have had extremely dangerous and major operations without blood (brain, heart & cancer) and are still around to tell the tale.
Maybe, one day, surgeons will refuse to do blood transfusions – what will you do then?"
And this is an example of spinning truth and half truth to attempt to rationalise the JW approach to Blood Transfusions.
Leaving aside the fact that nowhere in the bible does it explicitly and specifically talk about blood transfusion, here are some of the truths and half-truths contained within Goodlifes nonsense;
1. Even surgeons are now seeing that bloodless surgery is more healthful. A half-truth. transfusion of blood can have a transient impact upon the immune system, but as with all medicine, any treatment should be a reflection of the balance between the risks and the benefits of such a procedure. For many minor surgical procedures, the balance has shifted away from transfusion, but not for every instance where a transfusion is considered.
2.People who do not have blood recover quicker, and have a shorter convalescence period than those who do.
Again, this is half-true. Again, you have to balance the risk of giving blood and its transient impact upon the immune system against the benefit of giving the patient and infusion of red cells to improve oxygen carrying capacity, or for volumetric expansion of the plasma, or to improve the natural coagulation ability of the body, or even to improve its immune function. Medicine and transfusions, and disorders of the body are often complicated and such a simplistic response by the JWs is not appropriate.
3.Before you say it, - I know from personal experience. Also I know many who have had extremely dangerous and major operations without blood (brain, heart & cancer) and are still around to tell the tale.
Again, personal experience is useful to inform a debate, but anecdote is not data. There have been major operations performed without blood transfusion it is true, but in all cases that has increased the risk to the patient of carrying out the operation. Only human ingenuity and improved technology, along the lines of intra-operative blood cell salvage systems has helped to support this approach.
Again, trying to infer that because "some" major operations have been carried out without blood that can be extrapolated to suggest that all such operations can be carried out that way is simple- minded and dangerous. Each procedure, each patient, should be assessed on their specific merits, not put at risk because of some religious fundamentalism based around a human-interpreted piece of scripture that was referring to blood sacrifice rather than transfusions anyway.
4.Maybe, one day, surgeons will refuse to do blood transfusions – what will you do then?
Well there is never going to be a day when surgeons refuse to do blood transfusions until a suitable and effective alternative has been developed - synthetic blood for example - so this is just a meaningless comment.
JWs advice around blood transfusions is dangerous and based upon ancestral humans misunderstandings of scripture, putting the children and followers of JWs at needlessly increase risk from medical and surgical treatments. That is what is pathetic.