Cedars-Sinai doctor accommodates patients’ religious convictions

Dr. Michael Lill helps patient Kyle Hester, 21, a Jehovah’s Witness from Fresno, sit up before examining him in his hospital bed. Hester is awaiting a stem cell transplant. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

March 22, 2014 12:15 PM PT

Dr. Michael Lill of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of only a few physicians in the nation willing to care for Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions in the treatment of advanced leukemia. “I try and treat people’s religious beliefs with respect,” said Lill, an atheist. See full story

Lill waves as Kyle heads to a CT scan. In the background, an emotional Eric Hester, 34, Kyle’s brother, wipes a tear from his eye. Eric has been sharing the hospital room with his brother. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Eric reads from a book of Scripture while Kyle lies in his hospital bed. Eric said that as Jehovah’s Witnesses they don’t believe in miracles, so they pray for God to guide Lill. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

As they wait for her weekly appointment with Lill at Cedars-Sinai, Andres Cervantes and his wife, leukemia patient Christina Blouvan-Cervantes, become emotional reflecting on her near-death while fighting the disease. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Lill examines Blouvan-Cervantes, a Jehovah’s Witness. She had declined the blood transfusions that are part of the standard treatment of her disease but are against her religious convictions. Lill devised a way to treat her without using blood transfusions. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Lill enjoys a light moment with Andres and Christina during the weekly checkup to see how she is doing. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Wanda Smith, a leukemia patient from Texas, has her blood drawn by medical lab assistant Paul Enriquez during a checkup at Cedars-Sinai’s outpatient cancer center. Smith, a Jehovah’s Witness, is a patient of Lill. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)