Can jws give a blood sample?

by badboy 9 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  badboy

  Yesterday I gave a blood sample because I may have something wrong with me.

  CAN JWS GIVE BLOOD SAMPLE?
• 

  Mysterious

  Yes they can give blood samples for medical testing procedures etc. What they cannot do is donate blood that would be transfused to others or accept a transfusion from someone else. The more extreme members also frown on the use of external machines to clean the blood and return it to the body but I have never heard a prohibition on blood samples or blood tests being taken.
• 

  Pole

  What they cannot do is donate blood that would be transfused to others or accept a transfusion from someone else.

  
  
  On the other hand, it's ok to accept fractions obtained from blood donated by someone else breaking God's law. Of course only those fractions which are clearly enumerated in the Bible. LOL.
  
  Go figure.
  
  Pole
• 

  blondie

  *** w78 6/15 p. 30 Questions from Readers ***

  Would

  it be wrong to submit to a blood test?

  Based on their knowledge of the Scriptures, most of Jehovah’s Witnesses, if not all, do not object to such tests. The small quantity of blood removed from the body is not eaten or injected into someone else. It is merely examined or tested before being disposed of.—Deut. 15:23.

  I wonder what the WTS position was back in the day they banned vaccinations pre-1952?

  Blondie
• 

  rebel8

  This is a good thread.

  In the '70s, the command was that blood removed from the body was supposed to be immediately destroyed, as in pouring it on the ground like the Israelites did. This was the reason for the prohibition on donating one's own blood before surgery and dialysis. I'm not sure if this was considered a conscience matter back then or an out and out no-no. It was presented to me as something that was not allowed.

  I realize in both those examples the blood is put back into the body. However, the issue of pouring it out on the ground still arises when blood is taken, used for a test, and not returned to the body. Keeping a blood sample and testing it is not pouring it out on the ground. Theorectically it should be against the rules as well.
• 

  MidwichCuckoo

  On the other hand, it's ok to accept fractions obtained from blood donated by someone else breaking God's law

  Good point Pole! How do they justify this? It seems a tad hypocritical to me.
• 

  tijkmo

  CONSCIENCE

  AND EMPLOYMENT

  7

  Employment is an area that brings up many problems calling for the exercise of Christian conscience. Some forms of employment, such as making idols, working in a gambling establishment or being employed by a false religious organization, are clearly contrary to the Scriptures. So Christians shun these. (1 John 5:21; Col. 3:5; Rev. 18:2, 4, 5) Not all employment matters, though, are that clear-cut. Certain employment may be in a "gray area," so to speak. And sometimes, while one’s basic work is unobjectionable, one may be asked occasionally to do something questionable. So conscience can be involved.

  8

  For example, there are employment problems involving blood. The Bible states plainly that God’s servants should not feed on blood. (Gen. 9:3, 4; Acts 15:19, 20) Hence, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses do not eat food containing blood, such as blood sausage, or accept blood transfusions. But what if, on your job you were asked to handle blood or blood products occasionally? Would your conscience permit that? A Witness in Colorado worked in a hospital as the chief medical technician running tests of various types on body tissue and fluid. Among the many things he was expected to test were blood samples. Sometimes it was simply to check a patient’s blood for the level of sugar or cholesterol. But at other times it was to cross match for transfusion purposes. Could he do that?

  9

  This Christian gave careful thought to the matter. It could be seen that it would not be right for a Christian to work exclusively for a blood bank, where everything was devoted to an end that was in violation of God’s law. But that was not his situation; he ran tests of many kinds. Also, if one were a doctor responsible for the decision, one could not order a blood transfusion for a patient, any more than a Christian store owner could order and stock idols or cigarettes. However, this technician realized that in connection with blood he was merely running a test, even as a nurse might have taken the sample, a messenger might have delivered it to the laboratory and someone else might administer a transfusion or other medication on a doctor’s orders. He reflected on the principle at Deuteronomy 14:21. According to that text a Jew finding a carcass of an animal that died of itself could clear it away by selling it to a foreigner who was not under the Law’s restrictions about animal flesh not drained of its blood. So the technician’s conscience at that time allowed him to run blood tests, including those of blood for transfusions to patients who did not care about God’s law on blood.

  10

  Is that how your conscience would have reacted? If not, for the sake of discussion, ask yourself whether your conscience would permit you as an employee to bring the blood sample to the laboratory for testing. Or, taking yet another step farther away from the actual transfusion, could you as a truck driver deliver the testing equipment to the hospital? Or would your conscience let you make glass from which such equipment might be produced? It is clear that not all these things reasonably can be viewed as direct contributions to violating God’s law on blood. But where does one "draw the line"? Here is where conscience comes into play. While the Christian must avoid things that are unmistakably in conflict with God’s law, he is called upon to use his conscience in settling many matters. Would your conscience serve you well in such situations? Is it sensitive?

  11

  In this particular case, after many years of running tests, the technician began to be troubled by his conscience. It was not as if someone else should or could tell him that he was doing wrong. Nor was he looking for someone else to make his decisions for him. But he began to think: "Is it consistent to talk of neighbor love, and yet contribute, in part, to my neighbor’s breaking of God’s law?" (Matt. 22:39; Acts 21:25) Appreciating his Christian duty to support his family, he discussed the matter with his wife. (1 Tim. 5:8) Together they agreed that, if his conscience was troubled, it would be better to make a change. He left his $15,000-a-year job and began doing cleaning work, though he started off earning just $3,600 a year.

  12

  Let us not miss the point of this example. It is not related here to suggest that a Christian cannot be a medical technician; there are Christians who continue to work as medical technicians, nurses, truck drivers, and so forth. This example is given to illustrate that conscience can come into play on matters of employment. In your case the type of job and what you are asked to do may be quite different. But all Christians should give thought to whether they are living as closely as possible in accord with God’s ways and principles. If your conscience trained by God’s Word is pained because of what is asked of you, will you ignore it? Just how important is it to you to have a clear conscience before God and men?—1 Tim. 1:5, 19.

  13

  Of course, we cannot altogether avoid employment problems, for we are still in this system of things. (1 Cor. 5:9, 10) Thus you likely realize that you may not be able to move your boss to cultivate a Christian conscience. He may choose to disregard certain laws, he may exaggerate the merits of his products or he may stock some items that you would not if you owned the business. Or your fellow workers may lie on their production reports or loaf when the boss is not nearby. Still, you can and should respond to your conscience. So if it does not allow you to do certain things or if you are ridiculed for your hard work, accept that. The apostle Peter wrote: "If someone, because of conscience toward God, bears up under grievous things and suffers unjustly, this is an agreeable thing."—1 Pet. 2:18, 19.
• 

  crazyblondeb

  I have taken many samples from JW's either in the ER or on the floor. They never knew that a 2X DF'd nurse was taking care of them!! A few were so snotty, I wanted to tell them SO bad! BUT, I was good. Do you know how hard that was? For me, extremely!!!! There have been several that tried to "witness" to the staff. We just let it go in one hear and out the other. Of course, the other nurses knew what I thought. We trashed several magazines and books they'd leave. The waiting rooms would be full of literature. It was a standing joke for me to go on "trash patrol" to get rid of the crap.
• 

  badboy

  tHANKS everyone for your input.
• 

  OldSoul

  Yes. They just can't take it back.