A teenager killed after a horror car smash in the Black Country died after refusing a blood transfusion because he was a Jehovah’s Witness, it was claimed today.

Joshua McAuley, aged 15, is said to have declined the treatment recommended by doctors and was not overruled by members of his family. The Shireland Collegiate Academy pupil was crushed after a car careered off the road and crashed into a shop in Cape Hill, Smethwick.

It took an hour for emergency services to free the teenager from rubble after a red Vauxhall Astra smashed into the front of off-licence and grocers Saya International Foods on Saturday.

Tragic Joshua, who was pinned against the front of the shop, was flown to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham by Midland Air Ambulance suffering serious injuries to his legs and abdomen but he died six hours later.

Church representatives today said Joshua made the choice not to have the transfusion because of his faith.

Under medical law, doctors are required to decide whether a child under 16 is competent enough to consent to or refuse medical treatment without the need for parental permission or knowledge.

Jehovah’s Witnesses follow the belief that blood is sacred and transfusions are prohibited by the bible.

Fellow members of his congregation at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Smethwick where Joshua and his family worshipped claimed he told doctors at the hospital: “no blood, no blood, no blood.”

Clive Parker, an elder at the hall, said: “I believe he was conscious enough after the accident and he made a stand on the blood issue. He made the choice personally.”

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust spokesman Gareth Duggan said they could not comment on individual cases.

“There’s not one single policy and not one single law regarding transfusions,” he said. “There’s no automatic right to override parental wishes or that of a minor. It’s a very complex area that has to be approached on a case by case basis.”

Horrified neighbours watched as Joshua was pinned against the front of the shop and a woman pedestrian thrown along the street after the car hit the building.

Residents and shopkeepers rushed out onto the street, but were held back by emergency service crews, who feared the whole building could collapse after the crash at 11.15am on Saturday.

Keen basketball player died in hospital at 5.30pm on Saturday.The 24-year-old woman hit by the car is thought to have been walking with Josh and was left seriously injured and was taken to City Hospital for treatment.

A 28-year-old man from Winson Green was arrested and has been bailed.

Tragic. It is a person choice, I suppose, but this is another of the many reasons why I hate religion, especially ones such as this. The folk are brainwashed.

They claim blood is sacred. What about actual existent life in itself? Do they not consider that sacred? A hypocritical "rule" in itself, IMO.

What about the family and friends left behind? JWs or not, it will still be difficult for them.

Complete madness.

JMO.

I spoke to a JW about this once -as I could not understand it.
From what they were saying it is not so much that the blood is sacred, it is the biological makeup within the blood (all your genes). They do not like the idea of taking someone elses Genes into their bodies. (This is how it was described to me)

I feel very sorry for the family.

When I was a Nurse I helped look after a young patient who was slowly bleeding to death and refusing to have a transfusion.

We got all sorts of legal advice, had lawyers round the bedside at one point because the patients partner, who was not formally recognised as next of kin, wanted the transfusion to go ahead, but the family and the patient didn't.

It was not until this patient was literally minutes from death, that the patient relented and decided to go ahead with the transfusion. If I remember correctly they had something like 10 units of blood in the first few hours - much quicker than the usual rate of transfusion, and the same amount over the next day or so.

The patient did survive, and went home, but some of the family were deeply unhappy about the decision, and some, who had been round the bedside to be there 'at the death' so to speak, didn't visit again.

It was a weird experience to see all this going on and I couldn't help but think that if it were someone dear to me, I would want to do anything at all to save them, to try and get them well again.

When I was a Nurse I helped look after a young patient who was slowly bleeding to death and refusing to have a transfusion.

We got all sorts of legal advice, had lawyers round the bedside at one point because the patients partner, who was not formally recognised as next of kin, wanted the transfusion to go ahead, but the family and the patient didn't.

It was not until this patient was literally minutes from death, that the patient relented and decided to go ahead with the transfusion. If I remember correctly they had something like 10 units of blood in the first few hours - much quicker than the usual rate of transfusion, and the same amount over the next day or so.

The patient did survive, and went home, but some of the family were deeply unhappy about the decision, and some, who had been round the bedside to be there 'at the death' so to speak, didn't visit again.

It was a weird experience to see all this going on and I couldn't help but think that if it were someone dear to me, I would want to do anything at all to save them, to try and get them well again.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2...g-transfusion/

Tragic case. WHile i disagree with this teaching i hold a healthy respect to him for holding onto his faith till death the way he did.