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Summary
- Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse transfusions of whole blood because they take the command to abstain from blood (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11; Acts 15:20, 29) to cover transfusion as well as eating.
- On September 18, 2026, the Governing Body made red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets from another person’s blood a matter for each Witness’s conscience, while whole-blood transfusion is still refused.
- Since March 20, 2026, each Witness also decides how his own blood is used in medical and surgical care, including having it stored for his own later treatment.
- Blood fractions such as albumin, clotting factors and gamma globulin were already left to each Witness’s conscience before 2026.
- A Witness may now donate blood meant for components or fractions, but not blood that would be transfused whole.
- When a Witness refuses blood, doctors turn to conservation methods such as erythropoietin, intravenous iron, cell salvage and hemodilution.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 revision), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 12:23; Acts 15:20, 28–29; Galatians 6:5. https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/nwt/books/
- “How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Show Respect for Life?” Questions From Readers (reflecting the 2026 Governing Body Update #6), jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/jehovahs-witnesses-view-blood/
- “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Each Witness Now Decides Whether to Accept or Donate Main Blood Components,” news release, Warwick, New York, September 18, 2026. https://www.jw.org/en/global-communications/country/global-news/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Each-Witness-Now-Decides-Whether-to-Accept-or-Donate-Main-Blood-Components/
- “2026 Governing Body Update #6,” jw.org, September 18, 2026. https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2026-Governing-Body-Update-6/
- “2026 Governing Body Update #2,” jw.org, March 20, 2026. https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2026-Governing-Body-Update-2/
- Associated Press, “Jehovah’s Witnesses allow blood-derived products but keep ban on whole-blood transfusions,” STAT, September 19, 2026. https://www.statnews.com/2026/09/19/jehovahs-witnesses-blood-derived-products-transfusions/
- “Why Don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses Accept Blood Transfusions?” jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnesses-why-no-blood-transfusions/
- “What Does the Bible Say About Blood Transfusions?” jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/bible-about-blood-transfusion/
- “God’s View of Blood,” lesson 39, and endnote 3, “Medical Procedures Involving Blood,” Enjoy Life Forever! (2021). https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/enjoy-life-forever/section-3/lesson-39/; https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/enjoy-life-forever/section-4/endnotes/
- “Blood Fractions and Surgical Procedures,” jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/gods-love/blood-fractions-surgical-procedures/
- Tertullian, Apology, chapter 9, trans. S. Thelwall, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm
- “Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood transfusions,” Wikipedia (on the 1945 start of the transfusion ban). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_and_blood_transfusions
- “Whole Blood Components,” American Red Cross. https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/whole-blood.html
- “What Happens to Donated Blood?” American Red Cross. https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/what-happens-to-donated-blood.html
- Ryan Davids and others, “Jehovah’s Witness Needing Critical Care: A Narrative Review on the Expanding Arsenal,” Critical Care Research and Practice, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11136542/
- Brian J. Wright, “Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood Transfusions: Their Use of Scripture in Their Blood Doctrine,” Christian Research Institute, June 22, 2016. https://www.equip.org/articles/jehovahs-witnesses-blood-transfusions-use-scripture-blood-doctrine/
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