Posterior spinal fusion without blood replacement in Jehovah's Witnesses

Posterior spinal fusion without blood replacement is a formidable procedure that most orthopedic surgeons are reluctant to attempt. This procedure has been performed without transfusions on 19 patients, all of whom were Jehovah's Witnesses. The operations were performed over four spinal segments at a time and were planned so that the procedure could be terminated when 10% of the patient's estimated total blood volume had been lost. Allogeneic donor bone was used to minimize blood loss whenever this was acceptable to the patient. The procedure was associated with a high incidence of pseudarthrosis, all cases of which occurred when allogeneic bone was used. No deaths or life-threatening complications were encountered. Thus, posterior spinal fusion can be performed in Jehovah's Witnesses without transfusion, but the procedure should be conducted only by the experienced spinal surgeon.