I wanted to point out that, in certain regions of the world, even in so-called "progressive" or high-tech medical communities, there is still a great deal of paternalistic practice going on. The "doctor knows best" culture is very hard to escape from. This is something that is being addressed slowly but surely as the patients' rights concept takes hold. I'm sure you are quite aware that not all health care professionals come out of that mold, however. Many are really interested in respecting patient wishes. I think it depends a lot on the geographic area, and on the legal climate in the region, as well. Sometimes physicians feel they have to do a lot of stuff to cover themselves legally. As to the Hb being too low, there is at least one article I know of that debunks the traditionally accepted minimum hemoglobin level of 10 as somehow being the tipping point of Hb sufficiency in the body, even though doctors are still using it as the standard. Many people can survive really well with Hb levels much lower than that. Research has documented this.

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Jan Grossberg, RN, BSN
Editorial Team