Jehovah’s Witnesses have changed their position on four major blood components, allowing individual members to decide according to their personal conscience whether to accept or donate them.
The adjustment was announced by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses in a statement issued by its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and published on the organization’s website on Friday.
Under the revised policy, members can personally decide whether to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood.
“The decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience,” the organization said.
Members can also decide whether to donate blood specifically for the purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person.
However, the organization stressed that the change does not affect its long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds.
“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,” it said.
Paul Gillies, International spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organization’s World Headquarters, said the group still regards blood as sacred while recognizing that decisions involving individual blood components are personal.
“Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God,” Gillies said.
“We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah,” he added.
The organization said the latest adjustment followed previous changes concerning blood fractions and the use of a member’s own blood during medical procedures.
It explained that the Bible does not specifically address decisions involving the four major blood components, making such choices a matter of individual conscience.
Jehovah’s Witnesses also said members seek medical treatment rather than practice faith healing, provided the treatment is in line with their wishes, values and beliefs.
Gillies said local congregations would not interfere in members’ personal decisions regarding 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,” he said.
The organization said Jehovah’s Witnesses have more than nine million members across more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
