All Blood Tests

In Acts, Chapter 15, verse 29, we are admonished in part to “Keep abstaining from blood”. As well, if we look in Leviticus 17:10, you will see that Jehovah said he would “set His face against the soul of any man of the House of Israel or alien resident therein who eats any sort of blood.” These 2 statements regarding blood say nothing about any specific type of blood, animal or human, but give the reader the impression that all types are included in the broad sweeping scope of their meaning.

Would this “eating of the blood” be the same as getting a blood transfusion, where we are not really ingesting the blood? In a sense, yes. In a hospital, a patient is sometimes fed through an intravenous setup, particularly if he is having trouble taking in sustenance through his mouth. Granted, most of us would never think of drinking blood down by the glassful, but having it sent into our bodies through other avenues such as the IV setup will still put it into our bodies even though we didn’t personally ingest it.

So because Jehovah does not allow the intake or ingestion of blood even for the saving of ones mortal soul, what can become of us if we are injured or sick to the point of needing an operation that requires some time under anesthesia and a constant replacement of well, blood?

In this day and age, there are many safer and less risky alternative treatments that have been developed since the 1970’s. The simplest is saline solution, a purified salt water, which is both inexpensive and compatible with all blood types. Others include lactated Ringer’s solution, dextran, and haemaccel. All these canbe used as plasma volume expanders, and are available in nearly all modern hospitals.

Actually, the risks that go with use of blood transfusions – bacterial or viral infection, transfusion reactions and Rh sensitization – are avoided by using these plasma substitutes. There have been reports from around the globe of how all types of surgery can be performed successfully without blood transfusions. This includes open-heart and brain surgery, amputation of limbs, and total removal of cancerous organs.

Dr. Philip Roen said, writing in the October 15, 1972 New York State Journal of Medicine, “We have not hesitated to perform any and all indicated surgical procedures in the face of proscribed blood replacement.” And Dr. Denton Cooley, at the Texas Heart Institute, said, in The December 27, 1970 edition of the San Diego Union, “We became so impressed with the results [from using nonblood plasma expanders] on the Jehovah’s Witnesses that we started using the procedure on all our heart patients.”

So as we can see, through our insistence on listening to and following Jehovah’s commands in Acts 15:29 and in Leviticus 17:10 regarding the entire blood issue, we have spurred the Medical profession in a direction they may not have thought to travel, or if they had, might have traveled with less urgency and due diligence, thinking it to be a good idea for future generations, and not one of immediate concern.

Jehovah Witnesses must be forewarned, however, that many of these substitutes may have a part of the blood in them – albeit, a very tiny, very miniscule amount. And though not true whole blood in and of themselves, some of them do carry elements of blood in them in order to carry out the key function of the primary components of blood. Due to the miniscule amount, the Society will not condemn anyone who chooses to take this path, leaving it instead up to the individual to decide for him or herself.

Because of this, Christians face a very serious decision. They must carefully and prayerfully meditate on Bible principles concerning the sacredness of blood. With a keen desire to maintain a good relationship with Jehovah, each must be guided to his decision by his own bible-trained conscience knowing that he alone will stand before Jehovah on the Great Day of Judgement.