Jehovah’s Witnesses allow blood-derived products but keep ban on whole-blood transfusions — SkimNews
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- Jehovah's Witnesses announced a revised policy allowing members to receive blood-derived products — plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells — while maintaining the ban on whole-blood transfusions; it is the second revision this year.
- Geoffrey W. Jackson, a member of the Governing Body, said "each Christian must make his own personal decision" about using the four primary blood components in medical and surgical care.
- Paul Gillies, the organization's international spokesperson, said members must pray, study scripture, and consider what the Bible says before reaching "a decision that you feel happy about with your God."
- The Governing Body also revised policy in March, authorizing members to have their blood stored for their own future medical treatment but not for others' use.
- Members may now decide as a matter of conscience whether to donate blood for use in blood products to treat others, though donating for whole-blood transfusions remains prohibited.
- Critics, including former church members, say the whole-blood prohibition has led to preventable deaths in surgeries, accidents, and violence; the organization continues to oppose the treatment.
- The blood-transfusion teaching derives from Bible passages requiring believers to "abstain" from blood — an interpretation the article notes Jehovah's Witnesses hold "almost alone" among Christian and Jewish traditions.
Why it matters: For a faith with 1.3 million U.S. members and 9.2 million worldwide, this is the second blood-policy revision of 2025 and shifts decisions about blood components from organizational mandate to individual conscience — a meaningful expansion of member autonomy, even as the core whole-blood ban that critics say has cost lives remains intact.
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