by Lee Elder | | Bioethics & Medical Ethics, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent
On March 20, 2026, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses released Governing Body Update #2 (2026), delivered by Gerrit Lösch [1]. This announcement marks the most significant doctrinal shift since the 1945 prohibition on blood transfusions. The organization has...
by Lee Elder | | Clinical Guidance & Practice, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, JW Crisis Management, Patient Management
Jehovah’s Witnesses are widely known for their conscientious objection to blood transfusions, a position rooted in their interpretation of biblical commands to “abstain from blood” (Acts 15:28–29). However, the current policy maintained by the Watch Tower Bible and...
by Lee Elder | | Hematology & Biomedical Science, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, JW Crisis Management
What follows is a collection of quotes from Watchtower Society literature. This information will help you understand the development of the blood, vaccine, and organ transplant doctrine and document the many changes in policy through the years. Quotes are presented in...
by AJWRB Staff | | Biblical History, Hematology & Biomedical Science, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, JW Crisis Management
As with blood, the Watchtower Society (WTS) originally had no objections to organ transplants. In a Questions from Readers section in The Watchtower, Aug. 1, 1961, page 480, the question about organ transplants is answered pointedly: “Is there anything in the...
by Lee Elder | | Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent
The “No Blood Card” carried by Jehovah’s Witnesses has undergone significant changes over the past several decades. Originally referred to simply as the “blood card,” it evolved into the “Advance Medical Directive.” A major structural shift occurred in 2004 when the...
by Lee Elder | | Hematology & Biomedical Science, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform
Most Jehovah’s Witnesses will be completely unaware of the Watchtower Society’s (WTS) once firm position against the “crime” of vaccination. During the centuries great plagues and illnesses have taken hundreds of millions of victims, sometimes even devastated...
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