Hospitals are an institution which provide treatment by specialized staff and equipment ( wikipedia). The role of the staff in the hospital is to provide care for patients to help them recover and maintain healthy. There are many roles within a hospital such as doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, etc. All of these roles play an important part in the structure and in the maintenance of the hospital as an institution. All social institutions affect each other. Religion can have an effect on hospitals. This is because many religions have different beliefs, and those beliefs can affect which procedures are done within a hospital.
An example of this is blood transfusions. If someone has loss an excessive amount of blood, hospitals may perform a blood transfusion in order to save the patient. However, some religions do not believe in blood transfusions. An example is Jehovah Witnesses. Individuals of this religion do not believe in accepting blood from other individuals because they believe that if blood is removed from the body it should be disposed of (watchtower.org). Therefore, they do not accept blood transfusions. This is where two social institutions collide. Although Jehovah Witnesses' do accept other fluids, it can be tricky for surgeons during major surgery without blood transfusions. Major surgery can still be done without blood transfusions though and according to Michael E. DeBakey, the risk during surgery without blood transfusions is not larger than the risk during surgery with the use of blood transfusions (watchtower.org). However, there are still many doctors who believe it is too risky.
