FACT CHECK: Has Jehovah’s Witnesses changed its rule on blood transfusion?
Have you heard? It is being reported that Jehovah’s Witness issued a circular that members can now receive blood transfusions.
One of the popular doctrines associated with this denomination, which has distinct beliefs from mainstream Christianity, is the rejection of blood transfusions.
Based on a scriptural quotation, Witnesses (as they are also referred to) should never be privy to accepting, storing, or donating blood for transfusion.
The practice, which teaches its adherents to outrightly refuse the reception or donation of blood even when doing so comes as the last resort to saving a life has remained unchanged over the years.
The doctrine has led to a number of deaths and lawsuits between parents who reject blood transfusion for children and doctors who defy their wishes.
CLAIM: Recent reports filed by TheSource, and the news medium Moshood Karim claimed that Jehovah’s Witness’s Council of Elders issued a circular to all their Kingdom Halls and declared that its members can now receive blood transfusions.
“Regarding the issue of accepting blood transfusions and blood components. We hereby announce that henceforth these matters will be one of personal conscience,” the governing body was quoted to have written.
“We are writing to you at this time to convey to you a number of fundamental changes being implemented at this time.
“We recognize that some of these adjustments may prove disconcerting to our brothers and sisters. We trust that a spirit of love and forgiveness will ensure all to make the transitions detailed here.”
CHECK: To ascertain the credibility of this information, TheCable reached out to three different operators of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ public relations desk and three members of the denomination in Nigeria.
Gad Edia, one of the operators, dubbed the reports making such claims as “fake news” and stated that the denomination has made no such adjustment to the longstanding doctrine.
One of the members of the denomination contacted with regard to the news similarly described it as “impossible” and stated that the practice would always remain in force so long as Acts 15:29, the scriptural excerpt on which it is based, remains unchanged.
“Until this scripture changes, we cannot change our stand on blood transfusion: To keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourself from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you,” he said.
Also, checks on the organisation’s official website showed that there is no release or statement about the purported adjustment.
VERDICT: News that Jehovah’s Witnesses can now receive blood transfusion is FALSE.
It will be a good development. At least lives will be save.
Anything that is humanly done is subject to change with time. Not only Jehova witness will change their human doctrines but other religious organization has started to do the same also to their man made doctrines which have sent so many people to their untimely grave. God, please help us.
It will be a great news to consider, I was one of Jehovah’s witnesses and I even worked with the HLC group in the witness our work was to ensure that witnesses are not transfused against their belief and yet some died in the process hoping to be resurrected, even though I was in that group I had always wondered if that policy could be changed and allow witnesses to now make a total matter of conscience. If God so desire it will be a happy thing beacouse many witnesses have died and more will die as the organization do not even have hospitals they own so as to effectively help their members. May God be our helper.
The Watchtower now permits the use of 100% of blood in fractionated form. This includes the largest protein in blood – hemoglobin. Follow the link below to learn the facts about what is, and what is permitted by the current policy which has changed many, many times over the past 70 years.