Jehovah’s Witnesses have no religious objections to IR procedures

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- A group of radiologists from Boston Medical Center is using interventional techniques to treat bleeding Jehovah’s Witness patients. The Jehovah’s Witness (JW) movement was established by Charles Russell in Pennsylvania in the 1870s and now has six million followers worldwide. Issues with blood transfusions were first described in the July 1945 edition of The Watchtower, the movement’s official publication. Followers believe ingestion of blood can result in loss of eternal life, eternal damnation, and excommunication from their congregation. Many also believe that individuals offering to transfuse blood are acting through the devil’s influence. Acceptable medical treatments for JWs include most surgical/interventional procedures and anesthesiologic blood conservation methods, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, synthetic oxygen therapeutics, nonblood volume expanders, pharmacologic agents that do not contain blood components or fractions such as vasoconstrictors, agents that enhance hematopoiesis, and recombinant products, said Dr. Nii-Kabu Kabutey, lead author of the Boston group’s RSNA 09 education exhibit.

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