Journal Club | Vitamin K, Refusal-Related Consequences, and Transfusions with Dr. Shannon Walker

What happens when personal beliefs, patient autonomy, and medical evidence collide? In this episode of CPF Journal Club, we welcome Dr. Shannon Walker, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for a discussion on two emerging challenges facing healthcare providers: increasing refusal of evidence-based preventive interventions and growing requests for directed blood donations based on donor vaccination status. We begin by reviewing recent trends in Vitamin K refusal among newborns and the potentially serious consequences associated with declining this well-established preventive treatment. We then transition into a broader conversation about patient autonomy, trust in healthcare, and the role of evidence-based medicine as we examine the medical, ethical, and societal implications of directed blood donation requests. Together, we explore how clinicians can navigate difficult conversations when patient or parental preferences diverge from established scientific evidence, while balancing respect for individual choice with the responsibility to provide safe, effective care. Articles discussed in this episode include: Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding After Refusal: A Sentinel Event in a Misinformation Era. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41916583/ Trends in Vitamin K Administration Among Infants. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/full... Directed donations for unvaccinated blood: A departure from evidence-based medicine associated with clinical harm, resource waste, and oversight gaps in a two-year single-center series. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.111... Recommended reading: Legislating Medicine - Directed Donation and the Politics of Patient Choice. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp2602587 Medical, Societal, and Ethical Considerations for Directed Blood Donation in 2025. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/AN... Requests for Directed Blood Donations. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4... Refusing blood transfusions from COVID-19-vaccinated donors: are we repeating history? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.111... Parental Refusals of Blood Transfusions from COVID-19 Vaccinated Donors for Children Needing Cardiac Surgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38661995/