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The Heart of the Matter

I Won't Have Blood! A Battle Between Belief and Duty? Most open-heart surgery in children requires the use of donor blood. Jehovah's Witnesses believe, on the basis of biblical texts, that blood should not be ingested or transfused. There is thus a tension between clinical teams and devout families. This lecture explores that tension, and considers how we might perform open-heart surgery without blood.

Martin Elliott is Gresham Professor of Physic and Co-Medical Director at The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London (GOSH). He led the cardiorespiratory and thoracic transplant teams at GOSH for many years, and established, and is Director of the National Service for Severe Tracheal Disease in Children, the largest such service in the world. (from gresham.ac.uk)

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