title: Kidney and pancreas transplants in Jehovah's witnesses: ethical and practical implications.
abstract: Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions but accept solid organ transplants. Six Jehovah's Witnesses received a kidney and/or a pancreas transplant in our center. After a mean follow-up of 31.4 months (range: 18 to 39) all the recipients are alive and well with functioning grafts. However, 1 month after grafting, one recipient required blood transfusions. Hemorrhage was ruled out and the anemia was attributed to drug-related toxicity. Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses can receive a kidney and/or a pancreas transplant without blood transfusions at the time of surgery. However, lifesaving transfusions may be needed later on, which raises additional and unique medical and ethical issues.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Chirurgia Generale e Trapianti, Dipartimento di Oncologia, Trapianti e Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Boggi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vistoli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Chiaro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Croce
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Signori
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Del Prato
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mosca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002102:Cadaver; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000601:surgery; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D033221:Jehovah's Witnesses; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000941:ethics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000941:ethics*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome