Oluwanifemi Ibikunke
The governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced a significant clarification of its position on blood-related medical treatment, saying members may personally decide whether to accept blood components such as red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets.
The organisation, in a statement published on its official website on Friday, said decisions concerning the four major components of blood would now be treated as matters of individual conscience between each member and God.
The development marks a significant adjustment in the way Jehovah’s Witnesses approach medical treatment involving blood components, although the organisation stressed that its long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds remains unchanged.
According to the organisation, its position is based on the biblical instruction to “abstain from blood” in Acts 15:20.
“Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God,” the organisation quoted Paul Gillies, an international spokesman at its world headquarters, as saying.
Gillies said the decision was ultimately personal and that congregations would not interfere with members’ individual choices.
“We recognize that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah,” he said.
“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience.
“We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.”
The organisation also expressed appreciation for medical professionals who provide treatment while respecting the wishes and religious convictions of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The latest clarification specifically concerns four major components of blood — red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets.
The organisation said its position follows earlier changes concerning blood fractions and procedures involving a member’s own blood.
It explained that because the Bible does not specifically address some of these medical decisions, individual Witnesses are expected to make their own choices based on conscience.
“That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood,” the statement said.
The organisation added that Jehovah’s Witnesses value life and seek effective medical treatment, stressing that they do not practise faith healing.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care,” it said, adding that members seek doctors capable of providing effective treatment in accordance with their “wishes, values and beliefs.”
The latest clarification comes about seven months after the religious organisation announced another adjustment concerning the use of a patient’s own blood during medical procedures.
In a video statement published on its website, Gerrit Lösch, a member of the governing body, explained that members could make personal decisions concerning whether their own blood could be removed, stored and subsequently returned during medical treatment.
The latest announcement extends the principle of individual conscience to the four main components of blood obtained from another person.
The organisation, however, made clear that the latest position should not be interpreted as a reversal of its fundamental teaching against whole-blood transfusions.
The issue of blood transfusion has long been one of the most prominent areas where Jehovah’s Witnesses’ religious convictions intersect with medical practice.
Members have historically declined whole-blood transfusions because of their interpretation of biblical injunctions concerning blood.
The latest position means, however, that decisions regarding specific blood components will no longer necessarily be treated as a uniform religious requirement applicable to every member.
Instead, individual Witnesses will determine whether to accept such components based on their personal conscience.
The development is also likely to remain significant in discussions involving doctors, patients and families where emergency medical treatment intersects with religious beliefs.
In December 2025, the issue attracted public attention in Nigeria following the death of Mensha Omotola Esther, popularly known as Aunty Esther, who reportedly died from breast cancer after declining a blood transfusion in accordance with her Jehovah’s Witness faith.
The circumstances surrounding individual medical decisions can vary, and the organisation’s latest clarification does not amount to a blanket authorisation for all forms of blood transfusion.
Rather, its stated position distinguishes between whole blood and its major components while placing decisions concerning those components within the individual conscience of members.
The organisation said it would continue to respect members’ personal medical choices while encouraging them to seek quality healthcare consistent with their religious values.
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