The practice of blood transfusion has been in medical science for decades, but as conscientious objectors, Jehovah's Witness patients do not accept this standard procedure. But the Hemosep technology can help save their lives.
Among all religious groups, Jehovah's Witnesses in particular challenge medical professionals to provide them with adequate health assistance without the use of blood. For the Witnesses, blood is sacred and should never be ingested nor transfused.
Although blood transfusion is a standard procedure in operations whenever blood loss could pose a risk to one's life. However, doctors cannot defy a patient's demands if he or she chooses not to undergo such method. With this in mind, including other factors such as the "health risk" in transfusing blood, experts, and medical innovators have found several blood transfusion alternatives.
One of the options is called the "Hemosep Machine," a medical technology developed in the United Kingdom. The machine is the result of on idea from Terry Gourlay, a biomedical engineering professor at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
The Hemosep machine sucks the "wasting" blood from a patient's body during operation, filtering it through the process, keeping the essentials like the red blood cells, platelets, and enzymes. It then "recycles" the blood back to the body. This method prevents the blood from leaving the body's circulation, saving the person's life.
This Hemosep machine would not only benefit Jehovah's Witnesses but other people as well.
The Hemosep machine can make it possible for UK health authorities to save more than £10 million a year because it can significantly cut down the demand for blood supply.