We had a blood drive at work this week and I had been thinking about this topic.
Like so many others, after being raised in the organization, I'm still carrying a lot of baggage. At this point, it's an up hill climb with four suitcases and a Watermelon. The "Watermelon" for me, is the blood issue. My father died from not taking a blood transfusion. Yet the idea, that using blood for medical purposes is wrong, still lingers with me even though I know better. Although it is now OK to accept blood fragments , the fact remains that someone allowed their blood to be drawn from their body and stored for use in another persons body. That "someone" according to the Watchtower, has displeased God in a big way and yet they now say it's ok for a Witness to use fragments of that "Someone's" blood without sharing in their sin. How convenient.
One day, I hope to be free of both the baggage and the Watermelon so as to be able to donate blood or accept blood should I need it. Afterall, as a life long Witness, my blood is probably as clean as any blood can be. My wife also a recently faded Witness, works in a medical lab drawing and testing peoples blood all day long. Drawing peoples blood for testing purposes somehow falls under the radar of the Societies take on abstaning from blood and the idea that "pouring it out onto the ground" is the only thing you can do once it's left the body, They wouldn't dare go so far as to prohibit testing the blood, even though that practice is pretty marginal, according to their beliefs.
