Need Help - Parent in ICU

AudeSapere

DF parent is in hospital ICU and surgeon wants to give blood. Parent is df for almost 20 and firmly refused blood for personal reasons (spiritual).

My concern is that parent is taking strong stand based on outdated JW GB HLC guidelines. parent was not aware of "fractions" being allowed. Parent suffers from chronic pain and severe depression but lately has reengaged in life and has shown interest in doing fun but simple things. I do not believe that this parent is ready to die.

I am hospital with very limited internet access and hoping some of you can provide simple, non-emotional advice and encouragement for me to share with parent. Brief synopsis of increasing permissiveness of blood for jws can help.

Calm and thoughtful former elders, ministerial servants and HLC people i absolutely welcome your comments and if you are willing to talk to on phone please pm me.

Aude.

jgnat

Blood

Will this help?

ShirleyW

If you're parent is of "sound mind" and can speak for their own self, your decision doesn't matter, the Dr. will listen to the parent.

If they become incapicitated, as in speech, or a coma, then they will come to you, that is, if you don't have let's say 4 or 5 siblings and each one wants the Dr. to do what their opinion is.

cofty

Is it worth trying to reason with parent that the prohibition on blood is based on a simple misunderstanding?,

It was fine to eat unbled meat as long as the animal had not been killed - if it was found "already dead". Lev 11:38,39

Blood only had significance if a life had been taken therefore it does not apply to transusions.

I wish you well.

lost

Heart goes out to you, Good luck.

I refused blood 3 times ( C-sections ) How Fking stupid was I really. Potential my children could of lost their mother.

Like your parent, now, I am living the real life. I hope parent gets better. (watched my mum die of cancer, awful )

happy@last

I was told to explain to R & F fractions like this: if the Bible said we mustn't have apple pie we wouldn't have apple pie, nor components such as apples or pastry, however things like cinnamon or sugar are like the fractions. Bizarre I know but it worked with every JW I told it to.

Addition: My heart goes out to you in this situation

Crazyguy

Read Matt. chapter 12 then after go back and focus on verse 7 'I desire mercy not scrafice'. jwfacts.com also has a bunch of scriptures you can share showing that its not blood that was sacride (thats why they could eat roadkill animals unbled) but life itself. They were to bleed the animals they killed out of respect for the life they took.

Justitia Themis

The following is a sample: Awake , January 8, 1954, at 24 (blood fractions disallowed), The Watchtower , September 15, 1958, at 575 (blood fractions allowed), Respect For The Sanctity Of Blood, The Watchtower , September 15, 1961, at 558-99 (blood fractions disallowed), The Watchtower , November 15, 1964 (blood fractions allowed); see also Associated Jehovah’s Witnesses for Reform on Blood , supra note 110.

rebel8

(( )) How awful to see someone risk his/her life for something that makes ZERO sense, spiritually, logically or medically.

Fractions ARE ALLOWED. Besides all the quotes you'll get and the summary jgnat posted...perhaps an anecdote will sink in with your parent...so...I have taken fractions many times due to having a severe bleeding disorder...my superfine dub parent initially was bothered by this until I showed her in recent litteratrash where it says fractions are permitted. Now she only gets upset if one of us has to have an actual transfusion (not fractions).

when it comes to fractions of any of the primary components, each Christian, after careful and prayerful meditation, must conscientiously decide for himself." Watchtower 2000 Jun 15 p.31

Perhaps discussing how the wts waaaaaay understated the deadliness of hypovolemic shock would work. You can't just suck it up and wait to heal. I mean, you can, but you are playing Russian Roulette!

Hypovolemic shock is an emergency condition in which severe blood and fluid loss make the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. This type of shock can cause many organs to stop working.

Losing about 1/5 or more of the normal amount of blood in your body causes hypovolemic shock.

Or perhaps hitting the underlying issue, which is faith in the wts, a woefully confused organization, would work.

Here is the Watchtower’s history on the issue of blood

Finkelstein

I would think that if your parent has been DFed for 20 years that they wouldn't necessarily be that strong willed and minded in the JW

religion/faith. There is much information on this web site as well others, to make it clear that the No Blood transfusion doctrine

by the JWS is fragrantly false and not scripturally backed.

You might be able to copy this information and print it out to give it to your parent to read.

Read up on this issue yourself so that your well informed and can openly talk about it to your parent.

Need Help - Parent in ICU

Share this