4yr old recovers after blood transfusion

A four year old girl Sera Rosi Ratu is now recovering well at the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital after the court ordered that she should be provided blood transfusion.

The matter had to be taken to court last week after the parents were not consenting for the blood transfusion due to their Jehovah’s Witnesses religious belief.

CWM Hospital Medical Superintendent Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete took the matter to court through the Attorney General's Office.

Upon reading the affidavit in support of Doctor Waqainabete and upon hearing from the Deputy Solicitor General Sharvada Sharma, Justice William Calanchini ordered that the CWM Hospital Medical Superintendent is at liberty to provide blood transfusion and such other medical or surgical procedure or treatment as may be necessary to the four year old girl.

Justice Calanchini made this order after the parents were not consenting to blood transfusion.  

Doctor Waqainabete today told Fijivillage that he had a good meeting with the girl's parents on Friday after the blood transfusion.

He refused to make any further comments.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses of Fiji have also refused to make any comments.

They only referred us to their website.

According to the official Jehovah’s Witnesses website, its members have deep religious convictions against accepting blood.

In this case, the four year old girl needed urgent blood transfusion due to a low plasma level. This was also needed for urgent surgical procedure.

The matter was taken to court by the government doctors as the child is a minor and needed urgent transfusion.

The issue here was the legal right of a child to live and the parents' refusal to allow blood transfusion due to religious belief.

According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses website, they believe that blood transfusion is forbidden for them by biblical passages such as in Genesis 9 which reads, only flesh with its soul - its blood - you must not eat.

Leviticus Chapter 17 reads that you must pour its blood out and cover it with dust, and in Acts Chapter 15 the bible states that Abstain from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

Our legal sources say another case of a similar nature was taken to court in 1997.

The child from Suva was also provided blood transfusion despite the parents' refusal. The child survived.

However in Labasa, a child died before the matter could be taken to court for the doctors to get legal approval to perform the blood transfusion.

Our legal sources say these matters are only taken to court when the interested party who needs the medical procedure is a minor as the doctors believe that the child's ultimate right is the Right to Life.