The perioperative management of Jehovah’s Witnesses can be a focus of great concern, with strongly divergent opinions. Some of these are addressed here.
It is always useful to consider that ‘normal’ clinical practices presume that a patient can (if necessary) be transfused. Thus in the patient that cannot be transfused, ‘normal’ practice must change. This means different preparation; ‘aggressive’ avoidance of blood spillage; meticulous haemostasis; minimising blood loss by testing procedures, and changed post-operative observations with a raised awareness of the need to detect and intervene early if there is ongoing haemorrhage.
Guidelines
Perioperative Talk 