Why do Jehovas witnesses refuse blood transfusions?

Question

A very good friend of ours was in an abusive marriage and when she finally escaped, she was very low, during that time the Jehovas got hold of her and welcomed her to their family.
They then turned her against her own family telling her they were all sinners, but she stayed with them she would be forgiven.
Then they indoctrinated her with leaflets and books and made her go door to door spreading the "word"
They convinced her to sign a document refusing blood transfusions and she forgot about it.
Then about a year after that she suffered a massive heart attack, and slipped into a coma, we took her to the hospital and she underwent emergency surgery, she needed a blood transfusion, but these Jehovas witnesses appeared with a lawyer and threatened the hospital with a huge law suit if they gave her blood, we knew her really well and know she was starting to doubt some of the things they had told her and we discussed it about a week before the incident.
She died because of this!

How can this be right??

She was in a coma when she went into hospital and never had a chance to decide herself, they forced the issue on her behalf, whether she liked it or not!

For those of you saying maybe she would have died anyway.
The Inquest said she died because of the lack of transfusion.

I have seen the Jehovas video promoting man made blood products.
God made our blood, I think that might be better than something Man made.
Factor 7 killed our friend, but I blame the Jehovas, and none of you can convince me that they know better than God!

Answer 1

It is not right.
satan decieved them with the blood transfusions.
satan decieved India with the "cows coming back as relatives" thing.
satan kills, steals and destroys.
Mainly through Deception.
(telling people lies, and they believe them).
Ditto................

Answer 2

Here are some reasons why Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood.
Acts 15:20 - but to write them to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.
Acts 15:29 - to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication

Please notice that those verses do not say "abstain from eating/drinking blood", it is unqualified, and more general compared to the instructions about blood in the Hebrew scriptures where is states "do not EAT blood". See Gen 9:4.Why do you think Acts 15:29 has become a “general” instruction instead of being “specific” instruction?

If you are allergic to nuts or penicillin, the doctor will only say, “abstain from nuts or penicillin”, that covers everything, that is, nothing to be taken orally and to be transfused.

The Bible principle that prohibits the accepting of blood transfusions is a universal guideline. All true Witnesses abide by the Bible. As science advances we have to study hard to see what principles apply. If you want more information go to the source http://watchtower.org. Better yet you could drop by a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and politely ask your questions

As to your friend. If she signed a legal document stating one thing, then the hospital really needed to abide by it. If she was having doubts or was unsure she should never have signed. If you are correct and she was just signing because she thought the brothers wanted her to then that is sad.

You show a great disrespect for your friend by using words like, indoctrinated, convinced, Got a hold of, turned her, etc. Consider there is a chance your friend was a Witness because she wanted to be.

I am sorry for your loss.

PS Honey you are mistaken. We do seek medical treatments as long as they do not violate God's law. It is in part because of this that many new treatments are used.

Answer 3

I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you really cared about her and her death has left you sad. We ALL should have the right to refuse treatment if we so choose. That is part of our freedom of choice. In cases where it runs the risk of death or potential harm to children it is tougher to see the danger of NOT having a choice. Institutionalized health care runs the risk of recommending treatment we do not need, and taking away our rights. Some doctors take their Hippocratic oath to a level where they believe they can make life decisions for others. Doctors do the best they can, but they are only as good as the knowledge they have, plus they are human and can be wrong. ADD: As to the excuse why JWs refuse blood transfusions, it is partly an interpretation of what others call the Kosher laws about the slaughter of meat animals. As the time that the OT was written, ancient people struggled to understand disease and set up restrictions that they hoped would keep their people healthy. At the time that JW sect became popular, blood transfusions were very risky and many people died directly or indirectly because of them. Even today, there are still blood born diseases that can slip through the screening process at blood banks. The risk is much smaller, but it exists. Note: Most people in the US do not realize that the way that modern slaughter houses execute animals is still done according to a softened version of Kosher rules.

Answer 4

In the Old Testament we aren't suppose to drink blood. They think a blood transfusion is drinking blood.

A person has a choice to accept or refuse a blood transfusion. Sometimes blood is tainted. Today, some operations can use the persons own blood.

I think in this case, she should have had a blood transfusion, because Jehovahs Witness don't provide salvation through Jesus Redeeming Blood. So, your friend probably wasn't born of God, born of His Spirit, redeemed by His Blood. She is probably in a place of rest.

Answer 5

I am wondering how they legally did it as the Hospital has a privacy issue where even a close family member is denied information so how did they find out she was in the Hospital to start with? If she had filed a living will or something like that but, the Church itself bringing something would be like my Church bringing a copy of the Apostles Creed saying that because of the Communion of the Saints then anybody in my Church could visit me without their rules getting in the way. with the hospital it would be one thing but, oooh well, It is all up to God but man oh man I do not think the Jehovah Witnesses have any kind of doctrine to teach about.

Answer 6

I see that many people don't have all the facts before they speak. No witness is told what to do about taking that card or not... They are told to make sure of all things, and are told of all of the procedures that doctors themselves all prefer which has more to do with pure water and other liquids that actually help the person's blood to purify itself in the body... Haemoglobin is a matter of personal choice and I know doctors who were taped and filmed saying that blood transfusions are becoming a thing of the past. Hundreds of thousands of people inadvertently died of AIDS and Hep.C as a direct result of taking someone else's blood. Diseases of all sorts are in the blood seven years before it even shows anywhere else. Some people who received blood transfusions came out of hospitals with craving they had never had before such as beer, cigarettes, etc. Why do you think that is... Someone I know personally was never the same after a blood transfusion... I would never accept one and when one knows the end result of the condition of the dead, they can no longer fear it and have absolute faith in God's promise that he will resurrect us all after Armageddon. When someone is very ill, they often wecome the sleep of the just... as death itself erases sins, allowing for resurrection in the perfected paradise earth, the new earth as the heavens are already "new" with Satan and his demons stuck in the vicinity of the earth... "Let your will take place on earth as it is in heaven..." Think about it..." Do you know any doctor out there who'd be willing to give their own children a blood transfusion? Not even anti-biotics! No! They know better!!! But a blood transfusion is the easy way to go as most patients don't ask questions... Did you know that the first heart transplant was performed without blood whatsoever and that the patient is still alive? It's not good to assume or to speak to loud about things that are mostly rumours... When we want to know about anything, we must check every reliable source. And after seeing doctors from England, France, New-York and Montreal speak of blood transfusions as a thing of the past... and why... you no longer hesitate to look at the better options... Not to mention that if God had wanted us to have them, he would have made provisions for it just as he lovingly warned physisians to not go from the morgue to the operating room thousands of years ago when he said to not touch the dead, less they became unclean for 10, 30 or 40 days, I'm sorry I can't remember right now... but even though this information was in the Hebrew Scriptures for so long, it's only in this century that doctors began to understand the seriousness of going from a corpse to the OR.
Furthermore, if the witnesses weren't persuasive in their reasoning for not accepting any sort of blood transfusions out there, do you really think that the Supreme Court would have agreed with them??? As to their rights to refuse???

Answer 7

She obviously signed a durable power of attorney. The entire purpose of this document is to speak for you in case you are unconscious or unable to speak for yourself. She would certainly would not have been forced into signing this. It is a notarized and legally binding document, like a will.

Her family should have respected her wishes. It is the patent's right to choose what is done to their own body. No one should judge her for her decision to obey God and refuse blood.

Jehovah's Witnesses will gladly except any medical treatment that is in harmony with Bile principles. But we draw the line at ingesting blood into our bodies, which is clearly against the command to "abstain from blood."

Answer 8

How's that different than the media telling these young men who are perfectly okay and young and healthy that it is their duty to go to war and fight for their country. Many die because of this about 3,500 so far. Because Bush says it is a good idea? At least they are worshiping a higher power than he is. Many people sacrifice their life for what they believe in every day. How do you know she wouldn't have died anyway. My friend who would take blood got an infection from losing his leg in Iraq. Their was nothing the doctors could do and he died. No one was on a soap box about that. They are still dieing not for God who can resurrect them but for a man a president who thinks it is a good idea. So don't give me that until you get rid of every sacrifice people make for what they believe in.
I truly believe in the resurrection and god and any sacrifice we make to please God will be rewarded.
so are you saying God won't resurrect her? If she is so good then she is in a better place than this earth.

Answer 9

Jehovah considers blood as very sacred, and is never for human consumption in any form. The witnesses do this, for reason that the obedience to Jehovah and his laws, mean every lasting life in the new system of things. Love for Jehovah God is more important, than what you call life.

Answer 10

I am sorry for the loss of your friend but I doubt that you knew her as well as you thought you did. I, like most of Jehovah's Witnesses, carry a medical directive on my person at all times. This is a legal document that precludes medical personnel from administering blood to me, should I be unable to communicate my wishes myself. Your friend would have carried this document with her. No one forces anyone to sign it or carry it. Our reasons for refusing blood are clearly stated on this document. (See Acts 15:28) If medical personnel threatened to ignore my express wishes when i am unable to speak for or defend myself, I would hope that my faithful brothers would do the same for me that they did for my sister and your friend . I look forward to welcoming her back in the resurrection. (John 11:25)

Answer 11

Obviously, transfusions had not been invented yet in Moses day or in the 1st century. Here are the scriptures that show us God's thoughts regarding blood: to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. (Acts 15:19-21) Leviticus 17:10 10 As for any man of the house of Israel or some alien resident who is residing as an alien in YOUR midst who eats any sort of blood, I shall certainly set my face against the soul that is eating the blood, and I shall indeed cut him off from among his people. Deuteronomy 12:15-16 15 Only whenever your soul craves it you may slaughter, and you must eat meat according to the blessing of Jehovah your God that he has given you, inside all your gates. The unclean one and the clean one may eat it, like the gazelle and like the stag. 16 Only the blood YOU must not eat".

It's also their right to refuse it.

The refusal of blood products by JWs raises ethical and legal dilemmas that are not easily answered. Do an individual’s rights (namely bodily control, right to privacy, right to decide about life/death issues, right to religious freedom) outweigh society’s rights (namely the preservation of life, the prevention of suicide, the protection of innocent third parties, and the maintenance of the ethical integrity of the medical profession)? Does the right to choose outweigh the value of human life? That's the million dollar question.