Posts by Lee Elder

17

Good-bye Jehovah (poem)

by SunnyOne026 in

jw
friends

it has been several months now, since i learned ttat and the shock and grief is slowly lifting, although some days are harder than others.

after 40 years a devout believer i guess i should not be surprised that the transition has been challenging and the losses immense, and i am sure very many of you can relate to my struggles.

i frequently read the posts on here and my heart goes out to all of you, who grieve and struggle each in your own way, and i wish all of you continued courage and peace.

Blood Issue.......something for thought, where is the logic.

by CovertsadJW in

i have yet to read about the contradictions in the jw teachings on blood, but i have personally witnessed one.

i am a medical professional and have seen hemopure administered for an active jw who did refuse a blood transfusion.

its not fda approved here, but given in special life saving circumstances.

Lee Elder

By any logic, even the handful of blood components the Watchtower continues to ban,

namely red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma, are all less than whole blood, and

can be viewed as fractions.

15

New Article on Bloodless Medicine

by Lee Elder in

here is a good article on bloodless medicine.

i have weighed in with my thoughts, and encourage others to do the same:.

https://sciencetrends.com/rise-bloodless-medicine-treat-cannot-receive-blood-products-religious-reasons/.

Lee Elder

Here is a good article on bloodless medicine. I have weighed in with my thoughts, and encourage others to do the same:

https://sciencetrends.com/rise-bloodless-medicine-treat-cannot-receive-blood-products-religious-reasons/

7

do you tell doc ur father doesn't want blood

by cobweb in

here's a hypothetical: you find your elderly jw father - a lifelong witness, unconscious in his home - you are alone with him.

you ring an ambulance.

at the hospital the doc says they need to give him a blood transfusion straight away or he'll die.

Very difficult situation which I may have to face myself at some point with my very elderly JW father. I would be inclined to speak frankly with your JW relative if you think this could come up. It is their responsibility to complete the advance directive, and speak with their doctor about their wishes. If they fail to do these things, I don't think its your responsibility to do it for them if you are conscientiously opposed to whatever the current WT policy might be. If they are unconscious, and have not cared for these things in advance, I would assume they privately have serious reservations that they have not expressed.

You are left with two choices in my view:

1. Say nothing other than "please provide the highest level of care for my.....(relative).

2. My (relative) is a JW. However, they may have had serious reservations about supporting the policy since they did not complete the Watchtower's advance directive, and make necessary arrangements through their primary care doctor and/or specialist.

18

When the “blood fractions” was available for any pacient as an alternative treatment?

by RodrigoGuerreiro in

sorry if my topic question was difficult to understand (english is not my native language).

i will like to know the year when the so called “blood fractions” was available as an alternative to a whole blood transfusion.

my question is triggered by the curiosity about how long jw died or put their life at risk, refusing that type of treatment before the year 2000 (when the “new light” allowed that type of treatment).. thank you.

Lee Elder

This is a fairly complex issue. The Watchtower's position vacillated during the 1950's, 60's and 70's repeatedly. It continued to evolve over subsequent decades, but steadily allowing more and more plasma fractions. Late in the 1990's AJWRB started pointing out the obvious contradiction between allowing allowing all of the plasma fractions, but none of the other blood products. In 2000 the Watchtower responded by opting to permit all blood fractions.

19

Could You See A Kingdom Hall Getting Shot Up?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i would never want to see that happen but i’m surprised it has not occurred at this point.

there are many disgruntled people who have had bad experiences with the witnesses..

Lee Elder

I have felt for sometime that there was a good probability of this happening. They have disrupted the lives of so many people, I am surprised we haven't seen it in the U.S.

23

JW HLC....a mixed bunch...what has been your experience?

by Lee Elder in

i have had greatly varied experiences with hlc members over the years.

i was never one myself, but i knew several of them personally.

most struck me as being generally decent human beings.

Lee Elder

OC, that is one bizarre and terrible story. We need to preserve it as you must know. Incredibly sad, and frustrating that this goes one. You probably read Robert Weslowski's story on AJWRB in the last couple of months. There are some similarities.

23

JW HLC....a mixed bunch...what has been your experience?

by Lee Elder in

i have had greatly varied experiences with hlc members over the years.

i was never one myself, but i knew several of them personally.

most struck me as being generally decent human beings.

Lee Elder

Zeb: Its based on averages, so definitely not "off the scale". I've personally known two JW youngsters that died from Leukemia, when they rejected medically necessary blood products. When that happens they typically have to discontinue their chemotherapy, or they must reject a stem cell transplant. We're going to be posting a story later this year about a child of an HLC member who also died from a blood cancer. The 94 Awake has more stories and photos of victims as well.

Thanks,

Lee

23

JW HLC....a mixed bunch...what has been your experience?

by Lee Elder in

i have had greatly varied experiences with hlc members over the years.

i was never one myself, but i knew several of them personally.

most struck me as being generally decent human beings.

Lee Elder

I have had greatly varied experiences with HLC members over the years. I was never one myself, but I knew several of them personally. Most struck me as being generally decent human beings. I have also dealt with quite a few as a dissident JW after I started the web site "New Light on Blood" in 1997. I was quickly contacted by a number of HLC members who had the same concerns that I did. One group from South America even agreed to publish a position paper, that later became part of a mass mailing campaign.

http://ajwrb.org/the-h-l-c-perspective

Here is my response to him the British Medical Journal. I would like to hear what your experiences with HLC have been like.

http://www.bmj.com/content/322/7277/37/rapid-responses

9

Grieving Parents Denounce JW Faith (Blood)

by darkspilver in

sad situation for the parents.child death blamed on religious beliefs.

zimbabwe, the sunday mail, sunday, october 29, 2017. a jehovah’s witness lost her baby during childbirth because she and her husband followed church teachings and turned down blood transfusions that could have averted the tragedy.. getrude seneri (28) said she experienced labour complications on september 20, 2017 and doctors said blood transfusions were necessary to save both her and her child.. the couple stuck with their religious beliefs resulting in the child dying and her husband, misheck bande, stepped in to authorise transfusions for her when he was told that his wife’s life was also on the brink.. now, the couple have denounced the church for its teachings on blood transfusions.. opening up to the sunday mail society last week, seneri and bande spoke of how they were initially willing to risk their lives for their religious beliefs – but had changed their minds after the loss of their child.. jehovah’s witnesses are not alone when it comes to rejecting blood transfusions.. prince marezva, an elder of the johane masowe apostolic sect said they were totally against blood transfusions and organ transplants.. zimbabwe national traditional healers association president george kandiero said transfusions were shunned because people feared taking in bad spirits from the donor’s lineage.. another religious group that does not condone blood transfusions is the church of christ, scientist (aka christian science).. read full article: http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/child-death-blamed-on-religious-beliefs/.

related discussion: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5981654168371200/wonder-if-their-any-parents-theses-children-on-here-now-may-22-1994.

Lee Elder

Having lost a child, I can only say that its far, far beyond sad. The governing body have so much blood on their hands over this policy, it staggers the imagination. I think John Goodman nicely sums up my feelings towards them in this regard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lwdgkG8j7Y