Total knee arthroplasty can be challenging in Jehovah's Witnesses, as these patients do not accept blood transfusions. We reported our experiences with a special blood management protocol for these patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty. There were 124 self-reported Jehovah's Witnesses who had a mean age of 64 years and who underwent total knee arthroplasties between 1998 and 2009. Mean follow-up was 60 months (range, 24-120 months). Implant survivorship, with revision for aseptic component failure as an end point, was 98%. At the final follow-up, mean Knee Society objective and function score improved to 91 and 81 points, respectively. The authors believe that this blood management protocol was responsible for performing safe and transfusion-free total knee arthroplasties that can ultimately lead to excellent outcomes.
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