Judge rules 14y old JW can have blood transfusions ?

... could lead to issues in the child’s well being.
Apologies.

I had a patient who was a JW. She haemorrhaged heavily during childbirth and had to have a Caesarian section and a large blood transfusion. The surgeon decided to transfuse her on the spur of the moment or the patient would have died. He said to the husband 'I am tranfusing your wife and will talk to you later. If you want to sue me that is up to you.' The lady survived as did her baby. The couple had to keep the transfusion a secret from family and friends but they were grateful to the surgeon.

And if he didn't have the transfusion he would be dead.
Judges do not undertake these decisions lightly.
It may split his family, and/or his family from their church, but so would his death.

I thought they used saline solution instead?

I feel I agree with the Judge.

At the risk of sounding judgmental here, this lends credence to the idea of JWs being a cult.

I think that I have the ability to say that because my husband was raised as a JW and has described it as a cult.

I had a very dear friend who was a JW and prior to a major operation she did as many JWs do: she gave blood which was kept in a special safe, separate from the others in the Blood Bank.

She explained that it is not the blood transfusion per se which is forbidden, but the acceptance of someone else's blood.
Thus her own was used during her operaton and she recoveed well.

It all goes back to a misinterpretation of a bible edict that "thou shalt abstain from blood" - that is, from drinking blood sacrifices. Somehow it was extended to abstaining from transfusions.

Saline solutions are useful in some situations, but there is more to blood than water and salt, and it takes time for the body to renew all the other important elements.

Many years ago I nursed a JW child. He needed major surgery but, the family said they did not want him to have a transfusion. I remember the courts being informed in case blood was needed in an emergency but, the surgeon said that, if necessary, he would give blood while the patient was in theatre so no-one would be any the wiser. I don’t think, as luck had it, that he needed nor had the blood. An interesting problem for ‘The Moral Maze’.

bradfordlass wouldn’t always work the patient could need a lot of blood so donating a pint or so before the op could be useless
Judge was right, religion can be so rigid and stupid in its rigidity

There is an Ian McEwan novel on this topic, The Children Act. It's based on a previous case and has also been made into a film.