Hello, I'm new to this site. I'm doing a project for my nursing school. I would like to get some information. A 16 year old boy who was in a car accident has a low Hgb and Hct., MD ordered blood transfusion. Is he allowed to make his own medical decisions? What is the age limit to give consent? Thanks for your input.

Depending on what state you live in, that will determine the age of consent for a minor. Some states are 18, others 19, and I do not think any state goes to 21 anymore. There are documented cases that judges have viewed some minors as "mature minors" that are able to speak for themselves, but such individuals need to be well informed and deemed capable of making decisions that may be life or death decisions. I believe there are some of those cases in the archives of this website, just type in mature minors in the search box.

3/1/2008: If you have followed the history of news and problems with forced blood transfusions, you will find that sometimes a hospital will go over even the husband or wife of an
individual in order to get permissions from a mother or father! In San Bernardino County, at Loma Linda University, during the 1990's, there was an incident of a Jehovah's Witness in her
mid-30's that was forced to accept a blood transfusion after the hospital couldn't get her husband (who wasn't a Jehovah's Witness) to sign for her. Her parents were contacted and it
was due to their permission that she was transfused. This was printed in the local papers over
a period of time. If anyone has any more recent examples, and where they emanated from, please post as I rarely recently have discussed this problem and don't really know much about
where the locations with the most problems are. Age doesn't seem to matter-it is the disposition of the hospital staff towards the patient's belief vs. the hospital's stand on the issue.
Remember that there are alot of negative feedback that many people know about (that aren't Jehovah's Witnesses) that give others reasons to block no-blood directives. There are persons that have actually been disfellowshipped for taking blood, even after their death-this has angered many that have known of their extreme suffering through family members, because of being ostracized by everyone they have known as a Jehovah's Witness. So it is best to try to understand that there are many variables when no-blood issues arise-and, best to be prepared
for anything-and not be self-condemnatory if a health facility gets permission from a family
member or a court order. If you can accept that most persons view it as an act of love for not only the patient, but God as well, to administer what They Believe is better treatment than an
alternative. With the progression of acceptance of any new therapy through knowledge, not conflict, comes a more united viewpoint, allowing each one their conscience-moved choice.
21stCentury. end message. //////////////