Greetings, eyeuse2badub:
They really screwed up with holding on to the "blood doctrine". It was concocted in the whacky minds of Rutherford and Franz. They can't abandon it now because of liability. So, now JW's can 'accept' blood fractions!
According to information in Gruss' THE FOUR PRESIDENTS, it was Franz and Woodworth who devised the doctrine. The result: to stir up publicity when the war was over and persecution necessary to keep the cult alive was lacking. Rutherford would not permit this new teaching to go into the WT.
It was Knorr whom Franz convinced to run with the new doctrine in order to help establish his fledgling presidency.
CC
While Rutherford swallowed some irrational rantings by Franz and Woodworth over the beginnings of the blood issue, he would not allow publication of FWF's "special knowledge" as "new light" in THE WATCHTOWER. The two mischief makers kept things stirred up and began convincing others, including Knorr. The author was told that now that "King Saul" [FWF] is dead, the leadership would like blood transfusions to be a matter of conscience and lay the blame for all the suffering at the feet of Franz and Woodworth.
THE FOUR PRESIDENTS OF THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY (JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES), Edmond C. Gruss, Editor, pp. 74, 75, 231