Jehovah's Witnesses (WTS)
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Blood transfusions
& related procedures

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Quotations:

	"In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue." 1
	"In the CEMD [Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths] report the very high risk of mortality in women who refuse blood transfusion was highlighted. The death rate in this group was 1 per 1,000 maternities compared with an expected incidence of less than 1 per 100,000 maternities." 2

Jehovah's Witness' beliefs and teachings about blood transfusions:

Some conservative Christian denominations urge or require their members to abandon all medical treatment in favor of prayer. This policy results in a very large number of infant and child deaths in these groups. However, we are aware of only one Christian faith group -- the Jehovah's Witnesses -- that permits or encourages its members to accept medical treatments while urging them to refuse to accept blood transfusions for themselves or their children.

The Witnesses' beliefs are mainly based on four passages in the Bible. To our knowledge, all other Christian and Jewish faith groups interpret these same passages as referring to dietary laws; i.e. to the actual eating of meat containing blood.

Topics covered in this section:

1. Biblical passages concerning blood; opposition to WTS policies
    
2. Witnesses' stance on procedures involving blood other than transfusion
    
3. Cases involving blood transfusions
   • Part 1: Impacts of the WTS policy. Webmaster's comments. Two cases
     
     
   • Part 2: Four more cases. Hemoglobin transfusions. Conclusions & recommendations

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Carol Harrington, "Father shunned by family for defying faith to save child," Canadian Press. Published in the Toronto Star, Toronto ON, 2002-MAR-11, Page A7.
2. M Khadra, "A criterion audit of women's awareness of blood transfusion in pregnancy," Women & Children's Division, North Staffordshire Maternity Unit, Newcastle Road, Stoke on Trent, Staffs, ST4 6QG, UK, at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/ This is a PDF file.

A novel about blood transfusions within the Jehovah's Witnesses:

David Villa is a former Jehovah's Witness. According to Amazon.com:

Copyright © 1996 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original version written on: 1996-SEP-29
Last updated on: 2011-FEB-22
Author: B.A. Robinson

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