@Terry - excellent!
Jehovah's Witnesses can donate blood
by Marvin Shilmer 37 Replies latest jw friends
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Marvin Shilmer
redvip2000 writes:
Where is this letter? How can i get it? How genuine is it?
You don’t need a copy of the Cliff Roche letter to know Watchtower’s position on donating blood for purposes of transfusing fractions of its components. All you need is Watchtower’s statement that it is permitted that Witnesses can accept transfusion of fractions of blood components.
If you need confirmation such as the Cliff Roche letter my recommendation is to write Watchtower just like Cliff Roche did. That is precisely why Cliff Roche wrote the letter he did. You can read Watchtowers’ response to Roche. It is neither condemning nor condescending. Watchtower just answered his question. They’ll do the same for you, or anyone else who bothers to write and ask.
Marvin Shilmer
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Marvin Shilmer
mind blown writes:
So are they saying according to one's conscious, it's ok to get blood from many other people to attain a required fraction?
That’s what Watchtower has said, and indeed that is precisely the current situation for many of the blood products accepted by Witnesses under Watchtower’s blood doctrine. Take cryoprecipitate as an example. The amount needed for efficacious therapy requires donation from multiple individuals. Another good example is blood derived albumin.
Marvin Shilmer
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Marvin Shilmer
steve2,
You write:
The biggest danger to an JW in this understandable position is not getting the blood but the harshly condemnatory reactions of the "loving" elders in the local kingdom halls should they find out about it.
First, the situation you share of your mother is far more common than is admitted or widely publicized. Thanks for sharing it for sake of readers.
Second, and in direct response to what I quote above, what you pose is the immediate concern and is the reason for providing as much educational material on the subject as possible for sake of Witnesses who take time to research outside given Watchtower literature.
When a Witness googles “Jehovah AND blood” we want to make available a wide range and depth of verifiable information to educate those who seek education on the subject. This is the overall purpose of my blog, and specifically in this case about blood donation.
Marvin Shilmer
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Marvin Shilmer
Terry writes:
Where did you get the letter, Brother? Answer: I received it anonymously from somebody who obviously loves me enough to see that I get the Society approved help I need. I'm like that Ox in the ditch on the Sabbath.
That’s a good response, but more than is necessary.
A Witness can choose to donate all fractions of any components of blood for use in transfusion medicine not because of any personal letter but, rather, because if Watchtower’s express statements saying Witnesses can accept transfusion of all fractions of any components of blood.
The point of sharing Cliff Roche writing the letter he wrote and sharing Watchtower’s response was to 1) offer confirmation right from Watchtower on this particular detail of its blood doctrine and 2) to show that obtaining such information from Watchtower is, in this case, as simple as writing and asking the question.
Marvin Shilmer
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Marvin Shilmer
jwfacts,
You write:
Interesting article, but I think it makes it difficult for a JW to donate to the general blood supply, since it states the blood can only be used for "minor fractions" but not the 4 "components". It does state the "the remaining bulk was discarded." I get the impression that it is recommending the person could donate for a specific situation, but not give to a blood bank where they do not have control over how the blood is used.
According to Watchtower’s statement to Cliff Roche, the only thing that is definitely ruled out by “The Scriptures” is donating “whole blood for use by someone else either in a transfusion of whole blood or in a transfusion of its four primary components.”
In effect, the process of fractionation beyond the product forms known as red cells, white cells, platelets or plasma is treated by Watchtower doctrine as equivalent to the act of discarding.
Because Watchtower doctrine permits Witnesses to accept transfusion of all fractions of all components of blood then so long as all components of blood are sufficiently fractionated prior to transfusion then on that basis Witnesses are permitted to donate blood for that usage.
Marvin Shilmer
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SuzyQ49418
jwfacts,
You write:
Interesting article, but I think it makes it difficult for a JW to donate to the general blood supply, since it states the blood can only be used for "minor fractions" but not the 4 "components".
Plasma donation centers in the US already separate out nothing but plasma and return the rest back to the donor. The plasma is then fractionated for use in medicines so, those types of donations are not "the general blood supply". It seems to me from what I have read of that letter, donating plasma to a plasma center would be allowable. They throw away what they don't use for medicines after extracting the components for medicines. Let THAT get out into congregations of largely financially struggling witnesses! They can put an extra $200+ in their pockets every month donating plasma! Hahahahaha! I don't see where returning the rest of the blood back to the donor is any different from returning blood back to the patient in dialysis.
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Marvin Shilmer
Plasma donation centers in the US already separate out nothing but plasma and return the rest back to the donor. The plasma is then fractionated for use in medicines so, those types of donations are not "the general blood supply". It seems to me from what I have read of that letter, donating plasma to a plasma center would be allowable. They throw away what they don't use for medicines after extracting the components for medicines. Let THAT get out into congregations of largely financially struggling witnesses! They can put an extra $200+ in their pockets every month donating plasma!
Plasma apheresis donation has become a common practice and is a viable approach for Jehovah's Witnesses. Watchtower policy already allows JWs to accept every bit of plasma so long as it's delivered as cryosupernatant (by volume 99% of plasma) and cryoprecipitate (by volume 1% of plasma). JW patients whose condition would benefit from transfusion of these products line up to accept them.
See:
Jehovah’s Witnesses can donate blood
American Blood Centers' Approach to Jehovah's Witnesses Donating Blood
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Rattigan350
What about donating plasma (for money) where the red blood cells are separated and given back to the person? Since they pay for that, I'll do that. -
Vidiot
JW loyalists would be too scared to do this; they're the ones who reject even "fractions".