Answer from a JW friend about blood

by uncle_onion 36 Replies latest jw friends

uncle_onion

I sent him areply (which basically was "nicked" from the excellent info that had been posted here) and this is what I got back:
we regularly use albumin in intravenious feedings. We
make a solution which. contains carbohydrates,
fats,water and electrolytes,mitamins and albumin for
protein.protein that is used for tissue repair and
maintenance
by the way you pick up on every little thing . WHAT
OTHER RELIGION RESPECTS THE USE OF BLOOD? its a
terrible sin for us to have a gray matter when just
about every other religion is in volved is human
slaughter. our congegation is my place of refuge , I
have friends there which are no where else. poeple at
work gossip about every one . I have had visits by the
c.o districk overseerer when i had bad times as a
catholic all i had to do was show up fou the SUNDAY
CEREMONY AND PAY THE 3 COLLECTIONS . THE CHAPLAINS IN
THE ARMY BLESSED OUR M16 RIFLES. THE PROTESTANT ONES
AND JEWES DID THE SAME. YOUR PROBLEM IS JOHN YOU LOOK
AT THE STRAW IN THE SOCIETIES EYES AND FORGET THE
RAFTER IN FALSE RELIGIONS EYES. SOME ONE TOLD ME
RECEINTLY APOSTATES ARE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT. THAT IS
WHAT YOU ARE DOING.YOU SAID BELIEVE IN JESUS AND YOU
WILL BE SAVED. HE WHO ENDURES TO THE END WILL BE SAVED
. STRUGGLE TO GET THROUGH THE NARROW GATE. PREACH THE
GOOD NEWS ABOUT A PARADISE EARTH. WHERE ARE YOU GOING
ANSWER ME THAT HEAVEN OR EARTH.
hawkaw

There is so many things wrong with this policy/doctrine. The problem of course is that it risks the lives of innocent children and adults and that is why you, uncle onion have some concerns.
The safety of a child is the "forest" and downplaying the concerns of the doctrine is the "tree".
I loved the way he switched the arguement/debate to something else. Using creed bigotry and slaming other relgious groups is teaching hate in one of the worst ways.
Finally if JWs supposedly respect blood, why are they approving the storing cow's (bovine) blood and making it into hemoglobin solutions when they should be pouring the blood on the ground.
Uncle Onion, I don't know about you but every time I attempt a debate with a person who has the "rose coloured glasses" on you have to talk about only one issue. If you start using multiple sources/justifications the JW tends to loose it and starts an ad hominem attack just like Elvis.
hawk
Scully

uncle_onion:
I like how your friend uses the term "gray matter" in referring to these details of the blood issue. Most people equate the term "gray matter" as referring to the brain, and use the term "gray area" when speaking of details of nuance and ambiguity. I'm almost wondering if this is a kind of Freudian slip on his part.
Anyway, I think you should use the following illustration with him:
Married people use wedding rings as a symbol of their marriage, in the same way JWs believe that blood symbolizes life.
Both life and marriage deserve respect, as do the symbols that represent them. However, what is more important?? The symbols?? Or that which is represented by the symbols??
If you lose your wedding ring, the marriage is not automatically over. A ring can be replaced if it is lost. However, a person's LIFE should be valued above the blood which symbolizes it. If a person loses blood to an extent where their life is in jeopardy, does it not make sense, out of respect for God's gift of LIFE, to use blood which symbolizes that life and that gift, in a way that shows that the person's life is valued more than the symbol.
Incidentally, I've just returned from giving the "gift of life". It feels good. They tell me that every donation I make can save 4 lives. Every healthy adult can donate blood every 8 weeks. If you haven't tried it, please consider doing so. To me, it's a way of making peace with myself for the years I wasted being a JW, and it's also a way for me to mentally offer a great big F*** YOU to the WTS. The fact that it's helping to save the lives of sick and seriously injured people is a great feeling too.
Love, Scully
In the desert things find a way to survive. Secrets are like this too. They work their way up through the sands of deception so men can know them. - The X Files
Scully

The thing I find completely bizarre about Hemopure, being bovine-derived hemoglobin, is how the WTS equates the taking in of HUMAN blood to adultery. The claim is made that someone who receives blood against their will is the same as being raped.
However, if you take it a step further and apply the analogy to hemoglobin that comes from cattle, the reasoning becomes:
forced transfusion = rape
voluntary transfusion = adultery
voluntary acceptance of bovine hemoglobin = bestiality
How do JWs rationalize their way out of that??
Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't worry about it too much. The WTS has been "screwing sheep" for over a century now.
Love, Scully
In the desert things find a way to survive. Secrets are like this too. They work their way up through the sands of deception so men can know them. - The X Files
hawkaw

Scully,
With respect to your comment about rationalization. I think a lot of JWs have bought into the con that blood is dangerous (which is wrong). I also think that a lot of them rationalize it because they have not had to face the life and death issue themselves. Usually people don't put their minds to these serious issues until they face the music.
hawk
uncle_onion

scully
Funny enough, the e mail that I sent him had the wedding ring example on it. I am awaiting his next reply and will post it as soon as it gets here. I have asked him to ask the doctors where he works (he is a pharmacist) what they feel Albumin is.
UO
TD

we regularly use albumin in intravenious feedings. We
make a solution which. contains carbohydrates,
fats,water and electrolytes,mitamins and albumin for
protein.protein that is used for tissue repair and
maintenance

This poor fool. You say he is a pharmacist?
Albumin is added to IV solutions to prevent disruption of the patient's osmotic balance. This is the primary purpose of the albumin protein.
It is not present in IV solutions as a nutrient.
The albumin protein is too large a structure to pass through the cell wall. In order for this to happen, albumin, or for that matter, any other protein must first be broken down into its component amino acids. This deconstruction normally takes place in the small intestine, not the blood stream.
In cases of extreme malnutrition, around the point where the diameter of your knee is greater than any other part of your leg, your body will break down and consume its own blood proteins. This results in the characteristic distension of the abdomen and swelling of the joints that we have all seen in pictures of starving children. Even here though, albumin is given to replace what is lost, not to perpetuate this process.
….Excellent comments Hawk. As always, very informative.
Solace

plmkrzy;
Thanks for responding, I do feel the same way, but its easy for us to say "Im accepting Blood, who cares about the society, Go ahead disfellowship me." In reality most of these witnesses dont know a hillabeans about red or white blood cells, let alone basophils,neurophils etc.etc. nor do they care. Most of these are not educated people (thanks to the teaching of not continuing education) How convenient. As in my grandfathers case, when you have been a J.W. your entire life. You are talking 3 or 4 generations of J.W. family members all in the Org. because we were born into to it, staring at you while you ponder the thought of accepting blood. Not to mention the 2 members of the liazon (Sorry I have no idea how to spell that)comittee who didnt leave his bedside the entire time, ready to be judge and jury if he didnt do what they said was permitted. What would someone do? Before my grandfather died, he said his family, not the W.T.S, was the most important thing to him. I dont think he gave a rats ass about the society. But, the W.T.S. would make sure that if he accepted blood he would lose the most important thing to him because his family would have to totally ignore him, or risk being disfellowshipped themselves. I felt like I was in a room full of people who wanted to kill my grandfather, while my sister and I were whispering to him "just take my blood, it wont matter, it doesnt count, we wont tell anyone". Nothing worked but he did start to cry when we brought it up, I think maybe if we had him alone for awhile,, who knows... I do know The Org. sure put their mind control thinking caps on when they made the shunning rule because my family could care less about what the rules are, they will follow them untill they die, whatever they are or continue to evolve into as the years progress. The Card signing issue just makes me sick. Excuse me, while I grab the wastebasket.
Thanks for letting me vent.........
Scully

Dear Heaven:
So sorry to hear about what your grandfather and the rest of your family had to go through.
I just wanted to make a comment regarding the Hospital Liason Committee members who were constantly at your grandfather's bedside to make sure he didn't break down and take blood.
Nurses are there to help meet the patient's needs when they are ill. It is not "rude" of anyone who is sick in hospital to expect that their privacy be respected. If a patient or a family member feels that privacy is needed, please don't hesitate to ask the nurses to clear the room of visitors. HLC members included. If they aren't willing to leave quietly, the nurses will be more than happy to call the hospital security staff to escort them out. All you need to say to the nurse is "There are too many people in the room right now, and [patient's name] is exhausted and wants to get some rest."
You can also ask the nurses to post a sign on the door that says
NO VISITORS - PLEASE SEE NURSING STATION. The nurses will instruct the visitors (HLC or not) to sit in the waiting area, and if they try to sneak in, BOOM, security will be called to escort them out. Another thing you can do is make a specific list of names of people the patient wants to have visit them. Anyone else will be stopped, asked to wait, and the nurse will ask the patient if it's ok if that person steps in for a minute. Another list can be given of specific people who are NOT to see the patient under any circumstances.
If there is an issue, such as a conflict over blood transfusions, let the nursing staff be aware of it. They will be glad to work with you to give you the privacy that you need in order to carry out the patient's wishes, even if it entails moving a patient to an undisclosed location while a "procedure" is being performed.
Having HLC members sitting at a patient's bedside is nothing more than an intimidation tactic. I doubt they offer any comfort, and as you said, they seem to reinforce the idea to the patient that everyone wants them to die. The patient is in charge of his/her life, not the HLC. The nurses and doctors are there to help the patient's wishes be respected, and if the HLC members are interfering with that, we need to know so we can boot their asses to the curb to stop them from meddling in things that are none of their business.
Love, Scully
In the desert things find a way to survive. Secrets are like this too. They work their way up through the sands of deception so men can know them. - The X Files
sadiejive

It is a personal choice even if you don't think it is. You have the power to make your own choices.

I'm unfamiliar with how these things work as far as children are concerned, so if the questions I ask are stupid, forgive me .
What about the children who are made martyrs for the WTS? Did they make this decision for themselves or did their parents make it for them? I honestly, don't see how a child (especially one "raised" in the truth) could make a well-informed, unbiased decision regarding blood.
Sadie

Answer from a JW friend about blood

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