• José M Bernal, Sara Naranjo, Manuel Trugeda, Aurelio Sarralde, Carmen Diago, and José M Revuelta.
• Cirugía Cardiovascular, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria, Av. Marqués de Valdecilla s/n, 39008 Santander, Spain. bernal@humv.es
• Rev Esp Cardiol. 2006 May 1;59(5):507-9.

AbstractAs patients who are Jehovah's Witnesses are against blood transfusion, they are difficult to manage when a cardiac intervention is required. Between 1998 and 2004, all Jehovah's Witness patients with an indication for cardiac surgery (n=10) were operated on by the same multidisciplinary team. The mean fall in hematocrit was 30% during cardiopulmonary bypass, 35% during the postoperative period, and 22% at discharge. One patient required cardiac re-exploration because of sternal bleeding. All patients survived operation and were discharged. At follow-up, 1 patient died due to respiratory failure. Technological developments that reduce bleeding and enable lost blood to be recovered have made it possible to perform operations involving a risk of hemorrhage in Jehovah's Witnesses.

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