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AJWRB Hosts Information Booth at the 1999 American College of Emergency Physicians Convention

This past October 11-13th, the American College of Emergency Physicians gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada for their annual convention. Three to four thousand doctors attended the classes and visited the booths and displays at the convention center.Six AJWRB representatives were present to help with various parts of the project including set up and the actual manning of the booth.

After the first two days of the convention we finally realized that a number of the physicians had mistakenly assumed that we were present to reform their views about using blood! We added some additional signage which stated: "Conscientious Objectors to the Watchtower's Blood Policy", and "Watchtower Dissidents Who Might Accept Blood". This seemed to clear up the confusion.

One doctor stopped by and introduced himself as a Witness. He wanted to know if the society (WTS) was paying our expenses! Obviously, he didn't read the signs carefully enough. Another Witness doctor from Canada approached and asked if we were "friends." We told him that we were dissident Witnesses who disagreed with the current blood policy. He gave us a disgusted look, turned around and left.

One of the first doctors who came by stopped and stared at our sign, then stared at us, then stared at our poster, than stared at us with her mouth open. She remarked: "I'm so glad you're here", and went on to relate the following experience:

"A witness family came into my emergency department following a severe auto accident. The husband was unconscious and not salvageable. The wife was salvageable but demanded no blood for her or her husband. They had three children that I hated to see left as orphans, but I respected her wishes. They both died.

Later, the non-Witness ex-wife of the deceased husband sued me for not transfusing, on the basis of depriving her children of their father. Although I finally won the lawsuit, it consumed five years of my life."

Another doctor related this experience:

"A 21 year old unconscious Jehovah's Witness was brought into the emergency department following an accident. His condition was very serious and he needed blood transfusions. His family demanded that no blood be given. I respected their wishes until the young man suddenly became conscious. I explained what had happened to him and that he would likely die without a blood transfusion. He assured me that he did not want to die and wanted the blood transfusion despite having an advance directive stating otherwise. We transfused him and he lived."

We asked the doctor to consider what would have happened if this young man had remained unconscious as is often the case with critical patients. Clearly, he would have died. A recent informal poll of former Jehovah's Witnesses revealed that 51% would have accepted blood in a life and death situation while they were Witnesses. A number of doctors related experiences of Witness patients who did not want blood, but their desire to live was stronger than their desire to not have a blood transfusion.

Another emergency physician expressed a great deal of interest in what we were doing. He related that he had attended some meetings as a child and that his grandmother had been a Jehovah's Witness but had bled to death during hip replacement surgery. He expressed his hope that the policy would be reformed.

One particularly disturbing experience was related by a doctor who writes the ethics guidelines for emergency physicians. He told of a Witness woman in her third trimester who presented with a ruptured uterus and was bleeding to death. She did not have an Advance Directive although the family insisted that she was a Witness and would not want blood. Since the unborn child was at grave risk of dying, a decision was made by the medical staff to transfuse this woman. She was saved as was her baby. Unfortunately, two weeks later during a bout of post-partum depression the woman committed suicide after learning of the transfusion. Clearly, these issues are very complex. The WTS "demonizing" of certain types of blood transfusions has had a profound effect on its members. The doctor expressed the need for the WTS to better clarify matters and was anxious to read Dr. Muramoto's articles in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

One woman related her experience of when her non-Witness father was hospitalized. Her mother, who is a Jehovah's Witness, demanded that the doctors not use blood! The rest of the family had to intercede in behalf of the father, to let the doctors know that he was NOT a JW and that they should use blood if necessary, and that their mother had no right to impose her religious beliefs on the rest of the family.

We had occasion to speak with doctors from as far away as Sweden, France, Taiwan and the middle east. Some were pleased to know that the information was also available in their native languages on the AJWRB website.

Another woman had recently attended a lecture at her hospital give by a local Hospital Liaison Committee, and thought that we were also there to present the WTS position. She wanted to thank us for presenting the info on non-blood treatment. When we explained to her the position of the AJWRB, she thanked us for letting her know "the rest of the story"!

At least a few visitors to our booth commented that ours was the most fascinating booth at the convention! And most all were tremendously supportive of our work.

Hundreds of brochures and reprints were distributed and a number of doctors wanted to be added to our mailing list. We will probably set up a special mailing list specifically for physicians at some point in the near future.

All in all we felt that this was a very positive experience. We opened many minds and challenged the notion that monolithic support exists in the Witness community for the Watchtower Society's blood policy.

Several doctors have emailed us back thanking us for what we are doing and requesting more brochures. Plans are already being discussed for participating in another convention in the near future here in the U.S. This provides us with a very tangible way to make the medical community aware of our message.

AJWRB