Jehovah’s Witnesses change doctrine to allow blood donation

Jehovah’s Witnesses now allow members to decide based on their personal conscience whether to accept four major blood components: red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets. The Governing Body announced this change on September 18, marking a departure from a long-standing policy that treated blood transfusions as a religious prohibition.

The organization continues to reject whole blood transfusions and maintains that its interpretation of the command to abstain from blood remains unchanged. This new rule permits members to receive these specific components even if they were donated by another person. It follows a March 2026 decision that authorized members to store their own blood for use during scheduled surgeries.

The Governing Body justifies the change by noting that there is no classification of blood components that matches modern medicine. International spokesperson Paul Gillies stated that members continue to view blood and life as sacred. The organization describes the shift as a transfer of responsibility from a uniform religious prohibition to individual conscience.