title: [Ethical and legal duty of anesthesiologists regarding Jehovah's Witness patient: care protocol].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Jehovah's Witnesses patients refuse blood transfusions for religious reasons. Anesthesiologists must master specific legal knowledge to provide care to these patients. Understanding how the Law and the Federal Council of Medicine treat this issue is critical to know how to act in this context. The aim of this paper was to establish a treatment protocol for the Jehovah's Witness patient with emphasis on ethical and legal duty of the anesthesiologist.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The article analyzes the Constitution, Criminal Code, resolutions of the Federal Council of Medicine (FCM), opinions, and jurisprudence to understand the limits of the conflict between the autonomy of will of Jehovah's Witnesses to refuse transfusion and the physician's duty to provide the transfusion. Based on this evidence, a care protocol is suggested.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FCM resolution 1021/1980, the penal code Article 135, which classifies denial of care as a crime and the Supreme Court decision on the HC 268,459/SP process imposes on the physician the obligation of blood transfusion when life is threatened. The patient's or guardian's consent is not necessary, as the autonomy of will manifestation of the Jehovah's Witness patient refusing blood transfusion for himself and relatives, even in emergencies, is no not forbidden.
authors.affiliation: CET Sianest SBA, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil. Electronic address: takaschima@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Augusto Key Karazawa
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Takaschima
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Imbituba, SC, Brasil; Universidade Federal de Santa Catariana (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Thiago Mamôru
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Sakae
authors.affiliation: Direito Estadual - Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Karazawa
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Takaschima
authors.affiliation: Complexo de Ensino Superior de Santa Catarina (Cesusc), Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Renata Dos Santos Teodoro
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Takaschima
authors.affiliation: CET Sianest SBA, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Breno José Santiago Bezerra
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.affiliation: CET Sianest SBA, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil; Hospital Florianópolis, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Roberto Henrique
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Benedetti
keywords: Anestesiologia; Anesthesiology; Bioethics; Bioética; Blood; Blood products; Direito; Hemoderivados; Rights; Sangue; Transfusion; Transfusão