I am a paramedic who wishes to know if there are any special needs when it comes to birth death and medical care in an out of hospital setting for those of the Jehovah faith?

Answer 1

FROM A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS All baptised Jehovah's Witnesses should have with their personal identification, i.e., driver's licence, etc, a document referred to as a "medical directive." It is clearly marked, and is a folded document, that will be the size of a driver's licence, but unfolds to about 5"X7." It will advise medical personel of the wishes of the JW patient. This documant will also indicate, in the event of the patient being not able to function as their own spokesman, the name and contact information of who will be authorized to act as this one's agent on their behalf. This is a binding legal document. As a matter of faith, our only medical restriction that we observe is The Bible's command to keep "abstaining... from blood." So, in obedience to what we feel is a mandate from God, Jehovah's Witnesses who have made a conscious decision to obey that law, do not accept whole blood or any of blood's four main componets: platelets, white cells, red cells, or plasma. Whether the individual JW has decided to accept certain smaller blood fractions is a matter of each individual's conscience, and will be outlined in the medical document I just referred to. JW's seek medical treatment when neccessary. When we are sick or injured, we go to the doctor, and we go to the hospital, just like anybody else. Some other religions try to heal by faith or prayer, and encourage their members to avoid doctors. Not JW's. We do not believe in miraculous faith and prayer healings in this modern day. We have faith that Jesus and his disciples did do these types of healings in the past, but we believe that these miracles no longer occurred after the first century, thus they do not happen today. So when you encounter one of JW's in a car accident or some other emergency situation, as a paramedic remember that you are dealing with a person that is pretty much just like you or anyone else, with this one and only restriction. Don't administer blood into the patient per the restriction indicated in the medical directive document. As far as death is concered, we do not have any special religious needs in the handling of a dead body. Once the life of a person is no longer active, we do not believe that there is any special significance to the body itself, other than the emotional needs of the relatives of the deceased. So whatever the local laws or standard procedures in the handling of a dead person are in your area, these will be appropriate in handling of the the death of a JW, as in the death of anyone else. As far as a birth is concerned, again, no special considerations would be asked for except as directed by the patient's personal medical directive that they would be carrying with all their other personal identification. It should be noted that in some areas, the placenta and ambilical cord are saved for the purpose of extracting blood for medical use. A JW who has consciously decided against the use of blood for their own treatment would also logically request that their ambilical cord and placenta not be used in this way. If there is very good reason to believe that such a practice is followed in the hospital where a JW will give birth, the patient would probably instruct the physician of their wishes in the handling of the placenta and the ambilical cord. Generally speaking, as far as the paramedic in the field is concerned, treating the Jehovah's Witness will be like treating anyone else. No doubt minimizing blood loss is already a top priority for medical technicians at the scene, and decisions regarding blood transfusions are made and administered at the hospital. However, if the paramedic is aware of the fact that the patient is one of Jehovah's Witnesses, it would be good to pass this information along to hospital staff upon arrival to the hospital.