Blood - current JW thinking...

by dozy 26 Replies latest watchtower medical

• 

  dozy

  A few observations from (indirectly) talking to a couple of HLC members who have recently attended meetings with HIS in Brooklyn:

  (1) Any hope that the WTS will further reform the blood policy is wide of the mark. The WTS is very happy & settled with the current situation (whole blood + 4 “components” = NoNo everything else OK). All the GB & Don Adams & the other leaders are comfortable & signed up to the policy ( if anything , some feel that Jws have gone too far in allowing haemoglobin ).

  (2) HIS feel that Jws have “been vindicated” by the stand on blood - HIV , CJD , hepatitis etc. They feel that the HLC / HIS / PVG program has been an outstanding success in “informing & educating” the healthcare profession. They feel the trend towards “No Blood” medicine is unstoppable and that blood transfusions as we know will be rapidly phased out over the next decade.

  (3) Legally , HIS are confident that Jws have covered their asses. They have a non-spoken policy in place to allow minors to be transfused (the days of kidnapping kids from hospitals are long over).Any other liability is satisfied by the policy of Jws being told constantly that it is a conscience matter & the absolute right of a competent adult in most countries to decide his / her medical treatment. Virtually all lawsuits have been won or settled - there are very few “in the pipeline“ (the legal dept is focusing much more on child abuse cases , which are “a nightmare“.).

  (4) Rather than regarding the “stand on blood” as an “achilles heel” , the WTS figure that the policy is extremely positive. It differentiates Jws from all other religions as a unique doctrine - a USP , if you like. Any difficulties contribute towards a sense of martyrdom and persecution.

  My observations - there is no pressure on the WTS to reform - the medical profession has bailed them out. Ironically , they have become the perfect guinea pigs to develop a whole raft of alternatives. The R & F (other than the occasional family who has first hand experience of a family member who has died or suffered ) are completely compliant. I often hear many say that “this proves that we have the truth”. The attitude can be summed up by a brother who told me “I wish the WTS would simply tell us what we can take & what we can’t take. That would make it so much easier.”

  Dozy ZZZ zzz
• 

  fullofdoubtnow

  Very interesting Dozy. I don't really expect the wts to change their blood policy, and they could never abandon it altogether. Admitting they were wrong or, as they do in all cases when they want to back away from a doctrine, claiming "new light" on blood would leave them open to too many lawsuits.

  They have a non-spoken policy in place to allow minors to be transfused (the days of kidnapping kids from hospitals are long over).Any other liability is satisfied by the policy of Jws being told constantly that it is a conscience matter & the absolute right of a competent adult in most countries to decide his / her medical treatment.

  So they aren't going to try and prevent health authoritie from trnsfusing minor children, not that they could anymore, merely make their protest known. That may save a lot of kids lives anyway. I was heartened by this comment

  (the legal dept is focusing much more on child abuse cases , which are “a nightmare“.).

  I am so happy to read that the wts is having problems with child abuse cases. I have to say that they have brought this on themselves, with their abject failure to properly implement any kind of policy, and their refusal to notify the proper authorities when a case surfaces. I sincerely hope that these cases cost them millions of dollars. It seems to me that being hit in the pocket is the only thing that might get the wts to reform its' policy on handling and reporting the majority of child abuse cases within its ranks.
• 

  Clam

  Thank you Dozy - very interesting.

  Not entirely relevant, but I'd be interested to know how the HLC is viewed in the US. In our local hospital and in another very large English hospital, I know for a fact that they are removed by security the instant they turn up on site. This is at the request of medical staff, who see them as a total menace. I'd also be interested to know the HIS's policy on antenatal prophylaxis with anti-D. As a blood product is it a very clear non no?

  Clam
• 

  dozy

  Hi Clam - I think it depends on the relationship the HLC has with individual hospitals. In the UK , there are 35 HLCs & I know that some are invited with open arms (and even phoned up by the hospitals & asked for printouts etc) whereas others are treated with suspicion. Some elders are quite obnoxious & demanding (I think you knew that already!) whereas some are actually very proficient , diligent & have build up a dialogue and even friendship with the surgeons & hospital authorities.

  I presume that the anti-D immunoglobulin for antenatal prophylaxis is regarded as a fraction (& hence allowable). Essentially , HIS are not bothered about the individual details - they happily dismiss anything that isn't whole blood or one of the "primary components" as acceptable. There is an element of the "don't make investigations of the food in a meat market" (I'm clumsily paraphrasing here) when it comes to what they regard as blood fractions , regardless of the source. They are concerned about the type of JW who blankly refuses everything & anything , but not to the extent of preventing individuals from initially taking this decision on their blood cards , hoping that interventions either prior to surgery or even on admission in the hospitals can usually change the patients mind.
• 

  TD

  Dozy Very interesting, especially this bit:

  (2) HIS feel that Jws have “been vindicated” by the stand on blood - HIV , CJD , hepatitis etc. They feel that the HLC / HIS / PVG program has been an outstanding success in “informing & educating” the healthcare profession. They feel the trend towards “No Blood” medicine is unstoppable and that blood transfusions as we know will be rapidly phased out over the next decade.

  There are currently no substitutes for platelets and none on the forseeable horizon. As cancer in all its forms continues to be the scourge of modern Man, platelet transfusions are forecast to increase in the next decades.

  Clam Not a "No,no" at all. Rh immunoprophylaxis is a "conscience matter."
• 

  5go

  (2) HIS feel that Jws have “been vindicated” by the stand on blood - HIV , CJD , hepatitis etc. They feel that the HLC / HIS / PVG program has been an outstanding success in “informing & educating” the healthcare profession. They feel the trend towards “No Blood” medicine is unstoppable and that blood transfusions as we know will be rapidly phased out over the next decade.

  Funny the local Blood bank has commercials still looking for blood doners. And until they can make artifcial which will most likely still be animal blood they are just dead (sorry) wrong.
• 

  greendawn

  It's the usual load of bollocks, blood transfusions have saved a lot more lives than they have harmed eg by infected blood. Hundreds if not thousands of dubs have died needlessly and will not return. But astonishingly the WTS somehow managed to shift the responsibility of those deaths on the victims themselves. The way they present the issue makes it clear that they are masters in manipulating the masses with just the right spin. And until proper blood substitutes come out a lot more dubs will die needlessly.
• 

  LittleToe

  Just adding the following link because it bears some relevance:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/128702/2278937/post.ashx#2278937
• 

  Balsam

  They have a non-spoken policy in place to allow minors to be transfused (the days of kidnapping kids from hospitals are long over).

  Yes Dozy we saw this in practice when my son needed a blood transfusions and HLC told my JW husband he could not fight against it and to forget it. Only it was too late.
• 

  thetrueone

  Well said greendawn.......It's sad to think that there are so many people being controlled by such a corrupt but powerful group of hypocrites hundreds of lives lost by the corruption of power ! In a way cowards to their own doctrines.