All of the medicine, without the blood

Angelique Flores

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- Most people might not know it, but receiving medical

treatment without blood transfusions or blood products can be safer and

more effective than the alternative -- just ask the staff at the Fountain

Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center..

Local doctors have practiced what is called bloodless medicine for almost

20 years.

“We can handle any medical problem without the use of blood or blood

products,” said Dr. Vinod Malhotra, medical director of the bloodless

medicine and surgery program at the hospital.

Anything from open heart surgery to a caesarean section can be performed

successfully without blood transfusions.

“Blood conservation helps the community because then it will only go to

the the needy and not be used frivolously,” Malhotra said.

Most bloodless techniques are practiced before and during surgeries, when

transfusions would most likely take place. For a bloodless medicine

patient, preparation for surgery requires doctors to bring a patient’s

hemoglobin level to an optimum level using iron, vitamins or synthetic

hormones.

During surgery, many surgeons now make fewer and smaller incisions.

Surgeons also use a cautery to cut. This instrument burns through and

seals the blood vessel before it bleeds. These techniques minimize the

blood loss.

However, if blood is lost during the surgery, doctors will replace it

with other fluids, such as saline.

“It is not necessary to replace blood with blood,” Malhotra said.

Replacing the volume of fluid is more important than replacing the blood

itself, he said. The human body can easily tolerate a loss of up to 1 1/2

pints of blood without danger, Malhotra said.

If patients need more blood, the cell saver machine is designed to

recycle the patient’s own blood. This machine preserves red blood cells,

cleans them and reintroduces them into the body.

Although many people are still learning about bloodless medicine,

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been using it for some time. According to their

beliefs, whole blood, red blood cells, white blood cells and plasma from

another person cannot be accepted into the body. This type of bloodless

medical practice was born as a way to treat Jehovah’s Witnesses who

wished to adhere to their religious beliefs.

“It’s a real lifesaver and a great benefit for Jehovah’s Witnesses,” said

Roland Martinez, health care coordinator for the bloodless medicine

program at the hospital, who is also a Jehovah’s Witness.

One life it saved was Kimberely Hines, who was diagnosed with chronic

myelogenous leukemia four years ago. As a Jehovah’s Witness, a bone

marrow transplant was ruled out. Originally from San Diego, she moved to

Orange County to seek bloodless treatment for her cancer at Fountain

Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

Hines spent a few years on chemotherapy, but her condition worsened.

After a struggle with life that medical professionals thought she would

lose, her doctor decided she would be a good candidate for the first-ever

stem-cell transplant.

“We were all excited, but we didn’t make a hasty decision,” Hines said.

Hines completed the transplant in February, and after extensive testing,

her doctor has determined her to be cancer-free.

“I can’t believe this all happened,” she said. “I stuck to my principles

without compromising, and that made me very happy.”

The hospital maintains about 15 to 20 patients in the bloodless medicine

program. Twenty percent of the bloodless medicine patients are not

Jehovah’s Witnesses. Other patients opt for bloodless medicine techniques

to avoid blood tainted with HIV and hepatitis C.

Breakthroughs are ongoing in the bloodless medicine program at the

Fountain Valley hospital. Last year, the program expanded into areas that

other medical centers have not entered, such as pediatric and obstetrical

care. Doctors are now improving synthetic hormones that stimulate blood

production and are testing artificial blood. Both may be in use over the

next few years.

Other countries are also starting to catch on to the new program. A

Russian delegation came to visit local hospitals last week to gather

information on the program. In an effort to inform its own community on

what bloodless alternatives are available, Fountain Valley hospital

officials have recently approved an advertising campaign at movie

theaters.