BBC News Aleem Maqbool,Religion editorand Catherine Wyatt In August this year, 26-year-old Isaac Valdez had an epileptic seizure while browsing in his local library, causing him to convulse and strike his head against the ground. He lost consciousness. Later, in hospital, it transpired Isaac had hit his head with such force it had led to […]
Tag: Blood Transfusion
A distressed Newcastle doctor has told an inquest a Jehovah’s Witness woman preferred to die rather than accept a blood transfusion that could have saved her life. May 10, 2023 Heather Winchester died in September 2019 after complications with a hysterectomy operation at Maitland Hospital. She was transferred to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital where she bled to death. […]
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Why the Change?
Recently the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses announced a policy change that has had serious consequences for loyal witnesses in the past. While the change is commendable, it is disturbing that there appears to be no acceptance of responsibility for the harm the previous teaching caused and no mention of any apology. Also, while mentioning […]
In 2026, the Governing Body made two consequential changes. First, it made the medical use of a person’s own blood a matter of individual conscience.Then it made the use of red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma from another person’s blood a personal decision as well. The prohibition on transfusion of whole blood remains.This video […]
by CPG Recently the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses reviewed their position on the use of a person’s own stored blood in medical and surgical care. The result was a significant update: such use is now a matter of personal conscience. That decision will undoubtedly save lives. Witnesses facing surgery can now make use of […]
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Abortion vs Blood Transfusion
It is well known that Jehovah’s Witnesses would refuse a blood transfusion even in an emergency situation and they were told that their life depended on it. Failure to do so would result in being shunned by members of the religion. However, did you know that a pregnant witness mother if faced with an emergency […]
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses recently announced a “clarification” allowing individual members to decide whether their own blood may be removed, stored and later returned to the patient’s body during medical treatment. Previously. Storing your own blood was prohibited. There was nothing unclear or ambiguous about it. It plainly stated that the practice of […]
Few modern religious positions have generated as much ethical and theological discussion as the refusal of blood transfusions among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Physicians face a special challenge in treating Jehovah’s Witnesses. Members of this faith have deep religious convictions against accepting homologous or autologous whole blood, packed RBCs [red blood cells], WBCs [white blood cells], or […]
A Contrast Between Jewish Halakhah and Jehovah’s Witness Doctrine Few biblical prohibitions have generated as much modern ethical debate as the command to abstain from blood. Advances in medicine—particularly the development of blood transfusions—have forced religious communities to determine whether ancient dietary laws apply to modern clinical procedures. Two traditions that appeal to the same […]
byKelvin Ohoror May 10, 2025 in News A tragic and avoidable death has rocked the Borikiri area of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, after 33-year-old Victoria Paris, who was seven months pregnant and a mother of four, reportedly died following a cesarean section at Standard Maternity Hospital. The hospital allegedly refused to administer a […]