Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Interview of Professor Massimo P. Franchi M.D
[Text: Massimo P. Franchi, M.D. Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. University of Verona, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department. University Hospital of Verona]
[Text: How has treating Jehovah’s Witnesses influenced your medical practice?]
Professor Massimo P. Franchi M.D: “In my professional career, I thank Jehovah’s Witnesses. They made a traditional doctor like myself consider the possibility and importance of reducing the use of blood. I believe that you, not you as people but as a clinical set-up, have greatly changed my attitude and thereby also that of my collaborators.
[Text: In your practice, has refusing a blood transfusion ever resulted in a patient’s death?]
I have lengthy clinical experience of over 30 years. And in my clinical experience, I have never had any such cases, neither in my experience as a medical examiner nor have my colleagues ever had them. I don’t think it is correct to say that someone will die because they didn’t accept blood. It’s an exceedingly complex situation and should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Blood, anyway, has risks, so even a transfusion carries a high level of risk to the patient. We have to evaluate risks versus benefits. As a doctor, I believe that a patient who comes well-prepared for a surgical operation or to give birth has a minimal risk. We can’t exclude it. But then again, we can’t exclude a death following a transfusion.
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