Jehovah witness ethic q from fischer - junaid_08

[ArchivalUser]

a 12 yr old boy and his father are involved in a motor vehicle accident that results in a severe hemmorhage requiring an urgent blood transfusion.both of them are clearly alert and understand that without the blood they may die.They are both Jehovah witnesses and refuse blood transfusion on religious grounds.What should u do?


a.honour their wishes and no transfusion to either
b.obtain court order to transfuse the child
c.give blood to child but not to the father
d.use i/v iron in both as a substitute
e.explain the situation to child and ask him for consent for the transfusion

[ArchivalUser]

c.give blood to child but not to the father

[ArchivalUser]

I would go with (B). At that point, the child is under the custody of his father, so I think you have to take a court order first to avoid being sewed by the father afterwards.

[ArchivalUser]

The correct answer is C, but to the ethics notes from kaplan. As a physician you have the responsability to act in the child behalf, you can't withhold treatment(blood transfusion) in case of lifethreatening situation like this. In others scenario like, treating a minor with leukemia you might request a court order if parents refuse the treatment, but not in this case.

[ArchivalUser]

Hi Jorj nice to see you Bro... i have a doubt between B and C...i dont know if we can obtain a court order quickly.

[ArchivalUser]

sorry i meant back to the ethics, not but

[ArchivalUser]

C is the right one, court order at least takes one day, the is not tome to wait for that

[ArchivalUser]

an other Question what's the difference between ethics comittee and court order in such cases?
could someone clarify this points?
thanks in advance.

[ArchivalUser]

Hi dream ! Nice to see u 2 I think court orders are taken directly from a judge. I don't know about the ethics comittee, but it is always the wrong answer.

Guys, there are "emergency court orders" which are available 24/7. If you have time, you can take a look on those interesting real cases. You will see that hospitals always get court orders to transfuse blood to Jehovah's witness minors. It seems to be an important issue in the USA.

http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/blooda.html

[ArchivalUser]

yep thanks a lot Jorj for the explanation...