Blood transfusions??? just say no...

Nurses General Nursing

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I would like to become a nurse, but I don't believe in blood transfusions, getting them or giving them. That said I would never tell anyone not to get one, or say anything against the doctors order, I believe it is a personnal choice but I don't want to have to give them. I'm in nursing school now. Do you or anyone you know have this issue and if so how do they deal with it and what areas or floors can they work on? I know oncology and ortho are poor choices. I was hoping for a job where It wouldn't come up often and if it did I could get the supervisor or another nurse to do that. while I did all other care.

I've seen pt get blood in dialysis....love it when they get it prior to coming back to the floor :) I would think school nursing, dr office would be the areas to go. Maybe even LTC--we have pts come to the hospital when they need transfusions. However, we did give blood in school and it was a competency to be checked off on. We did have students in our class in your situation-I can't remember how it was handled.

Good luck.

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I have worked with nurses who would never RECEIVE blood themselves but had no problem giving it to others.

One of these nurses had a hysterectomy at age 28 (she had 2 kids) because of her own heavy bleeding issues. She was hospitalized due to her low H&H, but refused a transfusion. The surgery may have saved her life. She administered blood to her own patients, but refused it for herself.

Please don't limit your possibilities because of your beliefs. Unless you work in a trauma center, OR, ICU or similar place, this will not be an every day issue.

Best wishes!!

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Specializes in Medical.

As Roser posted, there are several threads here dealing with nurses who are Jehovah's Witnesses and blood product administration; even if that isn't the reason underlying your objective a lot of the same ground is covered there.

Official doctrine is murky on the topic, with some sources saying that deciding about administering a transfusion is a conscience decision, while others say that any involvement is equivalent to hanging the product (and perhaps even to receiving blood).

It may also be an idea to decide ahead of time about how you feel about administrating "fraction" components like clotting factors and albumin, which are not expressly prohibited by JW doctrine.

One last thing to bear in mind - if you work in an area where blod product administration is possible, relying on colleagues to administer for you will only work if they don't have the same beliefs.

None of this is intended to put you off nusing, and I think it's an excellent thing that you're considering this issue in advance of being confronted with an administration situation. Good luck :)

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Specializes in Surgical/Stepdown, Home Care.

I actually work in a trauma center, and we offer bloodless care as an alternative to blood transfusions because we have a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses in our patient population. If you do want to work in a hospital setting, but don't want to be in a setting that conflicts with your personal beliefs, you might want to do some research and find hospitals that offer bloodless care.

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Specializes in Medical.

It appears as though, in Canada at least, it is illegal to discriminate against a health care practitioner on the grounds of religion - click here for details of a case where an ICU nurse who converted was fired for refusing to hang blood.

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Unfortunately, in most hospital environments, you'll run the risk of being ordered to give blood. Of course, some specialties are more likely to face it than others. Sounds like psych is an fairly unlikely place, though, if you're really bent on working in a hospital.

If not, being a school nurse, working in a doctor's office that doesn't do any transfusions itself, and working in long-term care where an emergency patient would be sent to a hospital might be options worth looking at.

I really wouldn't recommend putting yourself in a situation where you're likely to have to ask for help even when you have the knowledge, time, and resources to do it yourself (as would be the case for the vast majority of hospital departments). At best, your coworkers will view it as unprofessional. At worst, it will be considered a serious liability.

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I have had this dilema. I had prayed and asked for opinions..but I had no idea how I would react until I was in the position to give blood while in school. Once I was faced with it, I did it and it didn't bother me. My view is that the patient is informed, and I am not receiving the blood myself. I think it's the same as giving any medication.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I'm not so sure about that.

It would depend on the school, I believe?

We were not allowed to draw blood nor give blood products in nursing school.

I had a pt in clinicals that needed blood. Two RNs from the facility had to verify the blood, RN from the facility had to spike the blood and do her regular checks on the pt's conditions. I was given the "honor" of taking and charting his blood vitals. I'm sure it varies between schools/facilities what a student is allowed to do.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Cardiac.
Even if you find a job outside of the hospital, you WILL be expected to give blood products in nursing school. It is a part of our health care system in America, and it's just the way it is.

In my nursing school it was absolutely forbidden to be involved in the administration of blood products. I don't think we were even allowed to take vitals while the blood was running. I think they were trying to make sure the students weren't held responsible if something went wrong.

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When I was doing my generic BSN, there was a student nurse who had the same problem. After weighting the problem, she switch majors and completed her masters in social work.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Cardiac.
And just an "FYI"...i am Roman Catholic, and i know you compared this to abortions for us....i would still take care of a woman who had an abortion. and i would put my own beliefs aside to care for a woman while she having an abortion, despite the fact it is against my religion...because its my job!! And at the end of the day, im still a catholic with the same beliefs.

Yes I certainly would care for a woman who had an abortion but wouldn't allow myself to be involved in sending her up for the abortion, or the OR. So I guess I can't work in OR, Same Day or Short Stay surgery. Now that they have the morning after pill, I guess I can't work in an ED or Urgi-Care center either. You have to make your own moral decisions and then find a niche of nursing that fits them. Sounds like that's just what the OP is trying to do.

I certainly don't agree with some posts that said you have to set aside your own beliefs to provide the care your patient wants or needs.

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