Guidelines for managing conscientious objection to blood transfusion.

Full Abstract

Parents sometimes deny their children blood transfusion because of their religious beliefs. The Japanese Joint Committee on the Refusal of Blood Transfusion on Religious Grounds asserts that the health and life of every child younger than 15 years should be guarded by the collective efforts of health, welfare, and advocacy institutions when a parent or guardian seeks to withhold transfusion therapy. Patients 18 years or older should receive treatment without transfusion after signing and submitting a "Certificate of Refusal Blood Transfusion and Exemption from Liability." For a patient younger than 18 years, but 15 years or older, essential transfusion can be performed if the patient or at least one guardian consents. Without patient's or guardian's consent, guidelines for patients 18 years or older shall apply. Health care providers should offer the best possible care that is consistent with a patient's age and competency.

Author information

Author/s: Ohto, Hitoshi (H); Yonemura, Yuji (Y); Takeda, Junzo (J); Inada, Eiichi (E); Hanada, Ryoji (R); Hayakawa, Satoshi (S); Miyano, Takeshi (T); Kai, Katsunori (K); Iwashi, Waichiro (W); Muto, Kaori (K); Asai, Fumikazu (F); Japanese Society of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy (JSTMCT);

Affiliation: Japanese Joint Committee on Refusal of Blood Transfusion on Religious Grounds, Waseda Law School, Waseda University, Japan. hit-ohto(-atsign-)fmu.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Practice Guideline

Journal: Transfusion medicine reviews (Transfus Med Rev), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 23 (issue 3) : pp 221-8

Dates: Created 2009/06/22; Completed 2009/08/25;

PMID: 19539876, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 8/25/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.