Blood Transfusion Ethical Dilemma

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Blood Transfusion Ethical Dilemma The healthcare system is prone to ethical issues and dilemmas that, if left unsolved, would endanger professional practice, user autonomy, and health outcomes. The rights of incapacitated patients, including those with mental disorders, are frequently discussed in health and non-healthcare settings. Patients can accept or decline certain treatment options depending on their beliefs, preferences, and values. Bioethical concerns arise when patients and families reject practices that contradict their beliefs. For instance, Jehovah's witnesses do not accept blood transfusion during patient care since it contradicts their faith. Conti et al. (2018) argued that declining transfusions due to religious beliefs has become a point of important reflection regarding patients’ rights and frustrating legal and medical practitioners.

Applicable Ethical principles The ethical principles applicable to this dilemma are autonomy and beneficence. It is challenging for health practitioners to reconcile the ethical purpose of medical practice with patients’ right to self-determination. This challenge complicates the healthcare professionals' responsibility to offer the best care, improve patient safety and uphold their life. Autonomy is a critical pillar of medical ethics.

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It implies that individuals have the right to make reasoned, informed decisions regarding their health and lives without intervention from others (Whelton, 2016). This principle also means that health professionals cannot impose treatments on a person for any reason. However, medical law allows medical practitioners to act as health agents for incapacitated unrepresented patients (Whelton, 2016). Autonomy ensures that patients are actively involved in the care process. Unfortunately, autonomy may contradict the medical practitioner’s intent to provide quality care to the patient. Beneficence reflects the medical provider’s responsibility to improve the client’s welfare (Whelton, 2016). This principle states that medical providers must deliver care that prevents harm and improves a person's wellbeing.

Ethical decision-making process Although refusal of blood transfusion is a person’s right, it creates a dilemma for health professionals who are bound by the principle of beneficence. These professionals can use the ethical decision-making model to resolve such dilemmas. The first step is identifying the problem by collecting information illuminating the situation. This step helps the clinician outline the facts and separate assumptions and suspicions (Gao et al., 2021). The second step is applying the ACA code of ethics. The clinician must identify the moral principles that align with the problem and identify the ones that take priority for the problem.

The clinician then determines the nature of the dilemma and reviews relevant professional literature to ensure they apply current literature in thinking and making decisions (Chae et al., 2021). The care provider might also consult experienced professional colleagues to provide perspectives on the prevailing problem. The fourth step involves generating a potential course of action (Gao et al., 2021). Creativity and brainstorming of several possible interventions help clinicians identify the most suitable for resolving the dilemma.

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The clinician must consider the possible outcomes of all available interventions and determine the right course of action. All options that do not produce the desired results must be avoided to ensure the patient's health is not jeopardized (Chae et al., 2021). The clinician then evaluates the selection intervention to see whether it generates new ethical challenges (Gao et al., 2021). The final step involves implementing the course of action. Clinicians must strengthen their ego for the effective implementation of the selected plan. They must also follow up on the issues to assess if their actions achieved the anticipated results.

Conclusion Clinicians can apply the ethical decision-making model to resolve dilemmas in practice.

This model emphasizes using ethical codes to streamline decision-making processes and ensure clinicians provide treatments that improve safety and patient care outcomes.

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References Chae, N., Gosling, D. R., Goshorn, J. R., & Fan, S. (2021). A Dilemma Within Doctoral Supervision: Applying an Ethical Decision‐Making Model. Counseling and Values, 66(2), 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1002/cvj.12152 Conti, A., Capasso, E., Casella, C., Fedeli, P., Salzano, F. A., Policino, F., ... & Delbon, P. (2018). Blood transfusion in children: the refusal of Jehovah’s Witness parents. Open Medicine, 13(1), 101-104. https://doi.org/10.1515%2Fmed-2018-0016 Gao, R., Liu, J., & Yin, B. (2021). An expanded ethical decision-making model to resolve ethical dilemmas in assessment. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 68, 100978. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.100978 Whelton, B. J. (2016). Ethics and Ethical Decision Making in Health Care. Jones & Bartlett Learning,