| The answer is True! Watchtower policies are unfairly biased and hurt children in our view. Why do we say this? Because of the way the Watchtower has chosen to classify blood products, platelets may not be used. These play an important part in the clotting process. Platelets are widely used in the treatment of cancers like Leukemia. Since platelets constitute a tiny percentage of blood volume (0.17%), one can only wonder why it would be that the WTS would choose to ban this particular component. The result is that Jehovah's Witness children are sometimes forced to discontinue their chemotherapy and allow their cancer or leukemia to run its course. The irony is that in the next hospital room over, a Jehovah's Witness can be having a transfusion of hemoglobin, albumin, Cryoprecipitated AHF, blood serums, etc. Any of which will likely constitute a much larger percentage of blood by volume. Theoretically, a JW can have all of these at the same time as long as the tiny membranes from the formed elements are not transfused. However, he may not have this tiniest of all blood components that is so essential to life in specific situations. With cure rates for children with leukemia now higher than 80%, there is little doubt about the truthfulness of the Watchtower's chilling comments. As in former times, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses kids have probably died to support the Watchtower's classification of blood products. Was the sacrifice necessary? Is it something that Jehovah God requires? Or is it simply irrational policy making by the Watchtower Society? You decide. "In
former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are
still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and
courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue."
Awake! - May 22, 1994, p.2 (Official Jehovah's Witness publication) |