Blood transfusion: Jehovah’s Witnesses revise decades-old policy

Jehovah’s Witnesses have revised their blood transfusion policy, now allowing members to receive or donate four blood components based on personal conscience, marking a shift from the religious body’s longstanding stance on blood treatment.

According to a report by The Gazette, the governing body’s decision was contained in a statement issued by the Jehovah’s Witnesses world headquarters in New York on Friday.

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

The organisation said any decision to donate must follow a clearly expressed personal need. “Each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person,” it added.

For decades, the church has maintained a strict policy against donating or receiving blood, citing Acts 15:20. It stressed, however, that its refusal of whole-blood transfusions remains unchanged, adding: “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God.”