The Jehovah’s Witnesses organization announced a revised policy on blood use on Friday, marking the second significant change to this doctrine in recent months. Under the new guidelines, members may now receive medical products derived from blood donations, including treatments involving the four primary blood components: plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. The policy emphasizes individual decision-making, stating that each member must personally determine whether to accept these blood-derived products in their medical and surgical care.
The organization also extended its stance to blood donation practices, allowing members to decide individually whether to donate blood for use in creating blood products for others’ medical treatment. However, the religious group continues to prohibit its members from receiving whole-blood transfusions or donating blood specifically for transfusion purposes. This distinction between blood components and whole blood remains a central tenet of the organization’s teachings.
The policy revision follows an earlier change announced in March, which authorized members to store their own blood for potential future personal use. According to Geoffrey W. Jackson, a member of the Governing Body based in New York State, the new approach allows members to make conscience-based decisions regarding blood product use. International spokesperson Paul Gillies emphasized that members should approach such decisions carefully, encouraging prayer and study of biblical passages related to blood.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ traditional opposition to blood transfusions stems from their interpretation of biblical passages calling believers to “abstain” from blood. Unlike Jewish and other Christian traditions that view this as dietary guidance, Jehovah’s Witnesses have applied the prohibition to medical transfusions. Medical professionals and critics, including former members, have pointed to cases where the ban on whole-blood transfusions has resulted in preventable deaths. The organization reported 1.3 million members in the United States in 2025 and approximately 9.2 million members worldwide across more than 200 countries and territories.
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