Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Jehovah's Witness Girl / 대한소아혈액종양학회지

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in the treatment of leukemia are closely related to the development of intensive chemotherapy, which needs multiple blood transfusions during bone marrow suppression. Patients of the Jehovah's Witness refuse blood transfusions and therefore hematologists are faced with major dilemma in the treatment of these patients with leukemia. We report an 11-year-old girl of Jehovah's Witness with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who refused blood transfusions during chemotherapy. She was treated by intensive chemotherapy and her remission and induction was successful with the support of G-CSF and erythropoietin. She has been in remission state for over 6 years since the completion of chemotherapy. We also made a brief review of related literatures.