The ethical dilemma of blood transfusions in case of religious beliefs

Abstract

Introduction. A healthcare system is predisposed to ethical questions and dilemmas, if they are not solved in a right way, they can endanger professional action, the quality of medical assistance or user`s decision. Thus, the doctors experiment a difficult situation to solve, because they have to choose between respecting patient`s autonomy or the legal devices that control the practice. Aim of the study. To elucidate the necessity of approaching the problem of blood transfusion in the case of religious believers (Jehovah`s Witnesses) from the bioethics perspective, to overcome the difficulty of the medical team`s action in emergencies. Materials and methods. Legislative acts of the Republic of Moldova about blood transfusion; the medical professional deontological code; the medical, medical bioethics and social bioethics sources. The methods applied: bioethical, sociological, analytical and descriptive methods. Results. Nowadays, in our country there are about 20.000 of Jehovah`s Witnesses. The ethical dilemma appears in the emergency situations when the patient’s life is in danger and there are not other procedures to intervene than the blood transfusion or there is no time to try a legal intervention towards Jehovah’s Witnesses or to accept any refusal. According to law, making decision using bioethics principles from the deontological code of medical assistance is legitimate, so the intervention is not criminal if the blood transfusion is necessary. A difficult situation is created in the case of the vulnerable contingent of patients, especially teenagers. Conclusions. 1) The legal regulations do not attribute the absolute value to religious liberty from this point of view; 2) If a life threat is imminent the medical intervention is not a crime even without patient`s or his legal representative’s consent; 3) It remains an ethical dilemma in approaching the legal perception of religious beliefs.