The Jehovah's Witnesses have reviewed their blood transfusion policy to permit members to have their own blood drawn, preserved, and "given back" during medical treatments. Members will be able to receive their own blood transfusions thanks to the move, although they are still not allowed to receive other people's blood in planned procedures, for instance. "Each Christian must decide for himself how his blood will be used in medical and surgical care," stated Gerrit Losch, a member of the group's leadership, upon announcing the change.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian religious organization that is most well-known for its door-to-door evangelism. In the UK, there are 144,000 active members, while there are nine million worldwide. The group has historically ruled that members cannot accept blood transfusions, as, according to the group's website, both the Old and New Testaments "command us to abstain from blood." "Our core belief regarding the sanctity of blood remains unchanged," a spokesperson for the group said. The action has drawn criticism from some former members who claim it "doesn't go far enough."
Mitch Melon told the Los Angeles Times, "If one of Jehovah's Witnesses faces a medical emergency with significant blood loss, or if a child requires multiple transfusions to treat certain types of cancers, this policy change does not grant them complete freedom of conscience to accept potentially life-saving interventions involving donated blood."
A court in Edinburgh decided in December of last year that medical professionals could provide an adolescent Jehovah's Witness with a blood transfusion if she required one after surgery.
Due to her religious convictions, the 14-year-old girl informed the medical staff that she would not consent to a transfusion; nonetheless, attorneys for a Scottish health board requested an order allowing the treatment to proceed if the child's life was in danger. Judge Lady Tait stated that she was "giving appropriate weight to her views" and that she was confident the order was in the child's best interests; it was granted.