Boas práticas no atendimento de pacientes com restrições religiosas à transfusão sanguínea

Abstract

Members of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination may have their religious convictions confronted in the context of the doctor-patient relationship. This occurs when they are administered, against their will, blood transfusion, a procedure prohibited by their belief. In this context, the aim of this study was to propose good practices that systematically and dialogically encompass medical and ethical-legal knowledge to prevent or resolve conflicts in this field. Therefore, the study used a qualitative methodology, of a descriptive and exploratory essence. As a result, four clinical measures and four ethical-legal measures were presented, capable of providing the people involved (patients and their families, health professionals, and hospital establishments) with concrete conditions for a progressively more adequate management of conflicting situations. The adoption of such measures has the potential to reduce oppositions, accelerate treatments and make them more effective, protecting, to the greatest extent possible, the human dignity and religious freedom of patients.