Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions
The gist
Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body now lets members decide on transfusions of four blood components.
The change came 23 days after a 26-year-old Texas member died refusing blood.
How it unfolded
- 1945The original rule banning transfusions was introduced, based on Bible verses prohibiting consumption of blood.
- 2012Alex Ball, a Jehovah's Witness from West Sussex, says a doctor told him he would not survive chemotherapy for blood cancer without a transfusion.
- Dec 2025An Edinburgh court ruled doctors could give a blood transfusion to a 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness if she needed one after an operation.
Key terms
- Governing Body
- The ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses that sets doctrine and oversees the denomination's worldwide operations.
- blood components
- Therapeutic substances prepared from blood, such as red blood cell concentrates, platelets, and fresh frozen plasma.
- life support
- Medical treatments and techniques used to sustain life after the failure of one or more vital organs.
Source: Wikipedia