The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has clarified that individual members may decide, according to their conscience, whether to accept certain blood components during medical treatment.
The organisation said the decision covers red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets obtained from another person’s blood.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued by the organisation’s World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and published on its official website on Friday.
According to the statement, the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person is a matter of personal conscience.
It also stated that individual Jehovah’s Witnesses would have to decide for themselves whether to donate blood specifically for the purpose of providing components or fractions for another person’s medical treatment.
However, the organisation stressed that its longstanding position against transfusion of whole blood remained unchanged.
Paul Gillies, an international spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organisation’s World Headquarters, said decisions concerning blood components were matters for individual members to make based on their conscience.
The organisation explained that its members seek professional medical care while endeavouring to remain consistent with their religious convictions.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care. They do not practise faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs,” the statement said.
The clarification marks a distinction between the organisation’s position on whole-blood transfusions and its guidance concerning specific blood components, which members are now expected to consider individually based on their conscience.