Jehovah’s Witnesses Relax Blood Transfusion Policy

The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced a change in its guidance on blood, allowing members to decide, according to their personal conscience, whether to accept or donate the four main components of blood.

The organisation disclosed this in a statement issued by its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and published on its website on Friday.

Under the new position, individual members can make personal decisions concerning red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets.

According to the statement, “the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience.”

It also said members would have to decide for themselves whether to donate blood specifically for the purpose of providing blood components or fractions for another person.

The organisation, however, stressed that its long-standing position against whole-blood transfusions remains unchanged.

“The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged,” the statement said.

International spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organisation’s World Headquarters, Paul Gillies, said blood continues to hold a sacred significance for members of the faith.

“Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God.

“We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah,” Gillies said.

The organisation explained that the latest adjustment followed previous updates concerning blood fractions and the use of an individual’s own blood during medical procedures.

It said, “Since the Bible does not comment on such decisions, they are a matter of individual conscience. That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.”

On medical treatment, the religious organisation said its members seek appropriate medical care rather than relying on faith healing.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care. They do not practise faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs,” the statement said.

Gillies further explained that local congregations would not interfere with members’ individual choices concerning blood components.

“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.

“We are grateful, too, for the many skilled and compassionate physicians who provide quality medical care that respects our personal wishes regarding blood,” he said.

The organisation said Jehovah’s Witnesses have “over nine million worldwide, in congregations across more than 200 lands.”

The latest announcement follows a earlier clarification reported by LEADERSHIP in March concerning the use of a member’s own blood during surgery and other medical procedures.

The earlier clarification allowed individual Witnesses to decide whether their own blood could be removed, stored and returned to them during medical treatment.

However, the organisation at the time maintained its position against receiving blood from another person.