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> > Although not a Jehovah's Witness myself, I think its not receiving > > others blood that is the problem, but that it is blood that has > > been removed from a body and returned to the circulation, either > > that of its owner or someones elses. So even a cell saver has > > problems because the collecting bag is set up via a giving set and > > is not in continuity with the circulation. > I don't have the definitive answer re JWs and blood - but I do know that > a patient of mine who is a JW (and some sort of leader I think) produced > a leaflet for me in surgery about JWs raising money for cell savers or > some such devices for use in elective surgery - so I guess they feel > comfortable with it Many Jehovah's witnesses have undergone cardiac surgery and are willing to accept the use of cardiopulmonary bypass machines as they will consider it as a temporary extension of their own circulation. Many will also accept the use of cell savers provided they are left in permanent connection to the patient and not disconnected at any stage. This has met with approval from many of the senior church members and has not led to any conflict in the cardiothoracic units I have worked in. Autologous blood that has been stored (and hence completely disconnected) is usually considered unacceptable regards richard steyn cardiothoracic surgeon %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%