Jehovah’s Witnesses will be allowed to accept medical treatments derived from another person’s blood in a landmark policy shift described as “massively significant” for patient safety.
However, the Christian denomination’s leaders will continue to oppose “whole blood” transfusions, maintaining that they are forbidden under biblical teaching.
The historic change applies to treatments involving blood components such as red and white blood cells, plasma and platelets.
Previously, Jehovah’s Witnesses were instructed to reject all treatments derived from another person’s blood. The policy was based on Acts 15:20, which urges believers to “abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood”.
Earlier this year, the governing body representing the denomination’s estimated nine million members approved the use of a worshipper’s own blood. That ruling allowed patients to have blood collected and stored in advance for a possible transfusion.
The latest guidance states that choosing to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets taken from another person will now be considered “a matter of personal conscience”.
Medical ethics specialists called the decision a “big change in teaching”. It could give Jehovah’s Witnesses—including around 144,000 worshippers in the UK—access to potentially life-saving treatment that many would previously have declined.
Over the past 15 years, courts have dealt with several high-profile cases in which doctors sought permission to override religious objections to blood treatment. Many involved parents who had refused consent for their children to receive potentially life-saving care.
Jehovah’s Witness leaders continue to oppose “whole blood” transfusions, saying they are prohibited by the Bible
Dominic Wilkinson, a professor of medical ethics at Oxford University, told The Times that parents had often been caught between medical warnings about their child’s condition and the teachings of their faith.
“They have had to choose between those two things, which has been a massive dilemma for some families and has led to court cases on a number of occasions,” he said.
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“This is very good news. It will significantly reduce the dilemma for both parents and health professionals.”
Professor Wilkinson said whole-blood transfusions would still be necessary in some situations, but described the new position as a “massively significant step”. He said doctors could now use other blood-derived products to help save lives after trauma or during gynaecological surgery.
He added that refusing blood-related treatment had produced “very real consequences” for patients.
The Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses for Reform on Blood, or AJWRB, which has campaigned for changes to the policy, estimates that refusals of blood treatment are associated with about 1,200 excess deaths each year.
The revised guidance also permits worshippers to donate blood. Leaders said: “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.”
Paul Gillies, an international spokesman for the denomination, which is headquartered in Warwick, New York, said: “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,” he added.
In a statement referring to the earlier decision on the use of a patient’s own blood, the governing body 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.”
‘Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care.
‘They do not practice faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs.’