Ethical dilemmas in blood transfusion in Jehovah's Witnesses: a legal-bioethical analysis

• Autor(a) principal: França,Inacia Sátiro Xavier de
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Baptista,Rosilene Santos, Brito,Virgínia Rosana de Sousa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Acta Paulista de Enfermagem (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-21002008000300019
• topic: Blood transfusion; Religion; Bioethics

OBJECTIVE: To identify knowledge production by healthcare professionals about blood transfusion in Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), listing the therapeutic alternatives for blood transfusion in these individuals and citing the legal, ethical and bioethical standards regarding blood transfusion in JWs. METHODS: Data were collected in the LILACS and SciELO databases, Nursing journals and on http://www.google.com.br. Articles focusing on blood transfusion in JWs were included, and texts that were repeated or did not approach this theme were excluded. Content analysis was used. RESULTS: The thematic categories show that the JWs accept self-transfusion and are opposed to the medical practice of blood transfusion, even if it represents the continuity of life. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals experience ethical dilemmas when they need to perform blood transfusion in JWs due to the fact that religious freedom is not an absolute value, and the apparent collision of fundamental rights demands that a decision be made, centered on legal standards and bioethical principles.