The 1990 brochure ‘How Can Blood Save Your Life?’ stated that Witnesses ‘do not accept transfusions of whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or blood plasma’, while referring readers elsewhere for minor fractions such as immune globulin.
Claim ID claim-blood-1990-five-categories-rejectedConcerns 1990Explicit statement
1990 · footnote to par. 12 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Witnesses do not accept transfusions of whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or blood plasma.”
The footnote continues by referring readers to The Watchtower of 1 June 1990, pages 30–31, for minor fractions such as immune globulin. The section describes non-blood volume expanders (saline, dextran, Haemaccel, lactated Ringer’s solution, hetastarch) as acceptable.
Provenance and verification note for How Can Blood Save Your Life? (brochure), Quality Alternatives to Transfusion
Confidence note. Text opened on JW.org on 19 September 2026 and the footnote wording confirmed. The 1990 publication year is the brochure’s own imprint date as catalogued by the Watchtower Online Library (publication code hb); the JW.org page does not display a year.
September 2019 · pp.9(5):94-102 · Figueiredo RS, Thakkar RG, Ainley PR, Wilson CH · Baishideng Publishing Group (open access via PubMed Central, PMC6783403)
“may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian”
The review quotes this 1961 Watch Tower statement about transfusion, and its Table 1 (policy as of 2019) lists red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma as ‘generally not acceptable’ and fractions such as clotting factors, immunoglobulins and cryoprecipitate as matters of individual conscience. It reports outcomes from small transplant series and concludes there are ‘no absolute contraindications to abdominal organ transplantation’ for Witness patients who meet fitness criteria.
Provenance and verification note for World Journal of Transplantation, Review of abdominal solid organ transplantation in Jehovah’s Witness patients
Confidence note. Opened on PubMed Central on 19 September 2026. The 1961 quotation is a secondary citation within this peer-reviewed review; the original Watchtower page is recorded separately in the ledger where it has been opened.
Notes. Useful as an independent, pre-2026 statement of which components were prohibited.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-pmc-2019-figueiredo
A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-blood-1990-five-categories-rejected/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.