A Jehovah’s Witness almost died because he refused to accept a blood transfusion after being stabbed during a domestic dispute in Hamersley.
The 29-year-old man was stabbed in the back and arm about 2pm on Saturday in his Edbury Place home.
He staggered to a nearby park and collapsed before St John Ambulance officers arrived.
The man was taken to Joondalup Health Campus and later to Royal Perth Hospital in a critical condition. The man’s wife, 32, also a Jehovah’s Witness, was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
The couple married 10 days ago in Bali.
An RPH spokesman confirmed the man was in the intensive care unit but the patient did not want to divulge his condition.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions because of literal interpretations of several sections of the Bible.
The Church teaches blood taken from the body must be disposed of but allows people to make their own decisions about treatment such as dialysis.
Detectives yesterday conducted a forensic examination of the couple’s home.
They later charged the man’s wife with one count of grievous bodily harm.
The woman, whose name was not released, is due to appear in the Perth Magistrate’s Court today.