Bolivian Jehovah’s Witness Whose Transfusion Refusal Stirred Controversy Dies in Anaheim, California

A Bolivian woman whose illness stirred a controversy over religious objections to blood transfusions died in a California hospital, according to a report published by The Washington Post in February 1999.

Rosario Villagomez, 51, was a former Washington-area resident and a devout member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Her illness drew public attention because of the religious objections to blood transfusions that were part of the controversy surrounding her care.

She had been stricken with a severe case of gallstones and related complications more than six weeks before her death. The report describes her illness as lasting for that period before she died.

Her death came at Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim, California, where Dana Woods, a hospital spokeswoman, confirmed the death. Doctors, Woods said, gave the cause of death as “pulmonary fibrosis,” a form of lung disease.

Source: Read the original report