http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/bay/news/4703955.html#
April 11, 2007, 11:47AM
FACES IN THE CROWD
Woman helps those who don't want transfusions
Seabrook's Jessica Varisco heads blood management program at Houston hospital
By KIM HUGHES
Chronicle Correspondent
Seabrook resident Jessica Varisco believes in the sacredness of blood.
So it just makes sense that she's director of the blood conservation and management program at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston.
"The safest transfusion is one that's not given at all," said Varisco, a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Dickinson. "There are problems with various viruses and health issues involved in blood transfusions, but there are a whole lot of other things that are also a concern such as shortages of blood."
Varisco has taken numerous courses relating to the topic of transfusion-free health care, and worked for eight years at Christus St. John Hospital, 18300 Nassau Bay, as an advance directives educator.
She also coordinated Christus St. John's transfusion-free medical and surgical program.
In January, Varisco was hired to launch a blood-management program at St. Joseph Medical Center.
"Jessica has vast experience in managing a bloodless surgery program," said Dr. Scott Scheinen, a cardiovascular, thoracic and transplant surgeon at St. Joseph's. "As a practicing Jehovah's Witness, she has a unique perspective on the intricacies of managing a patient's wishes with sound, safe and cutting-edge medical technology."
Varisco, a mother of two, said she knows what it's like to not have one's wishes respected it happened to her in 1985 when she faced an emergency cesarean section for the birth of her son in Louisiana.
"The doctor said 'I understand you don't want a blood transfusion?' " said Varisco, who has been married to her husband Jimmy for 28 years. "Then he told me he wouldn't touch me unless he could transfuse me if he needed to."
A nurse on duty was aware of Varisco's wishes and stepped in by calling a physician who would respect her religious beliefs.
"Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak about the fact we should abstain from blood," Varisco said. "There is sacredness involved in blood. According to scripture, the soul is in the blood. It represents a special gift, so God put a sacredness onto blood that we adhere to."
Varisco is thrilled to be part of an industry that is taking steps toward transfusion-free health care.
"If we employ all the strategies and techniques we have available, very seldom would we need a transfusion," she said.
If you have a suggestion for a "Faces in the Crowd" profile, contact Richard Zagrzecki at richard.zagrzecki@chron.com or send a fax to 713-362-7552.
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Woman helps those who don't want transfusions
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