Blood transfusion in children: the refusal of Jehovah’s Witness parents

In Italy, both parents have parental responsibility; as a general principle they have the power to give or withhold consent to medical procedures on their children, including consent for blood transfusion; however these rights are not absolute and exist only to promote the welfare of children. Methods. The Authors discuss ethical and legal framework for Jehovah’s Witness parents’ refusal of blood transfusion in Italy. They searched national judgments concerning Jehovah’s Witness parents’ refusal of blood transfusion – and related comments – in national legal databases and national legal journals, and literature on medical literature databases. Results. In the case of Jehovah’s Witness parents’ refusal of blood transfusion for their child, Italian Courts adopt measures that prevents the parents from exercise their parental responsibility not in the child’s best interest. Discussion. In the event that refusal by the parents, outside of emergency situations, exposes the child’s health to serious risk, health workers must proceed by notifying the competent authority, according also to the Italian Code of Medical Ethics.