Jehovah’s Witnesses allow blood-derived products but keep ban on whole-blood transfusions

The Jehovah’s Witnesses announced Friday that they have partly eased their long-standing prohibition on the medical use of donated blood, allowing members to receive products derived from blood but still banning whole-blood transfusions. The new policy permits members to receive medical treatments involving the four main components of whole blood: plasma, platelets, and red and white blood cells. Geoffrey W. Jackson, a member of the organization’s Governing Body in New York State, said each Christian must make his own personal decision about the use of these four primary components in all medical and surgical care.

The announcement also lets members decide as a matter of individual conscience whether to donate blood to be used for blood products for the medical treatment of others, while the organization continues to oppose members receiving whole-blood transfusions or donating blood for that purpose. In March, the Governing Body announced a separate revised policy that authorized members to have their blood stored for their own future medical treatment, but not for others’. Critics have faulted the organization for prohibiting a proven, potentially lifesaving treatment that can replenish blood lost in surgeries, accidents, or violence; critics, including former church members, say the teaching has led to preventable deaths.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ opposition to blood transfusions derives from their interpretation of Bible passages requiring believers to abstain from blood. While Jewish and other Christian traditions have interpreted this as a dietary law, Jehovah’s Witnesses extended the prohibition to transfusions. According to the American Red Cross, blood components are often used for specific treatments: plasma, the liquid component, is often used for trauma or certain diseases; red cells can treat conditions such as anemia; white cells can treat certain infections; and platelets are used in some cancer and other treatments.

Paul Gillies, international spokesperson for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, said in an interview that members should not make the decision on using blood products lightly. 'What we’re saying is you have to pray about it, you have to study it, you have to see what the Bible has to say about it, because blood in the Bible represents life,' Gillies said, adding that members need to consider all these factors before reaching 'a decision that you feel happy about with your God.'

Jehovah’s Witnesses emerged in 19th-century America and share many Christian beliefs with other churches but diverge on key theological issues, such as the nature of Jesus and biblical prophecy.