Jehovah’s Witnesses have given members greater personal discretion over whether to accept certain blood components during medical treatment.
The Governing Body of the religious organisation said individual members can now decide, according to their conscience, whether to accept red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma or platelets from another person.
The position was contained in a statement issued by the organisation’s World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and published on its official website on Friday.
“The decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience,” the organisation stated.
The clarification also extends to blood donation, with individual Witnesses left to decide whether they want to donate blood specifically for the production of components or fractions that may be used in another person’s treatment.
However, the religious body stressed that its longstanding objection to whole-blood transfusions remains unchanged.
Paul Gillies, an international spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said decisions involving blood components were now firmly within the realm of individual conscience.
He added that members continue to seek professional medical care while trying to ensure their treatment is consistent with their religious beliefs.
“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.”
Gillies further said local congregations would not interfere in members’ personal choices regarding blood components.
“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.”
The organisation said Jehovah’s Witnesses have more than nine million members worldwide, spread across congregations in more than 200 countries and territories.
The latest clarification comes months after the group announced another change concerning the use of a member’s own blood during surgery and other medical procedures.
Under that clarification, individual Witnesses could decide whether blood removed from their body could be stored and later returned during treatment.
Despite the changes, the organisation maintains its longstanding position against receiving whole blood from another person.
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