On 20 March 2026 (2026 Governing Body Update #2) the organisation stated that the Bible does not comment on the use of a person’s own blood in medical and surgical care, making the collection, storage and reinfusion of a patient’s own blood a personal decision.
Claim ID claim-blood-2026-own-blood-personalConcerns 20 March 2026Explicit statement
The organisation’s position or later explanation: The September 2026 article calls the March statement a ‘Scriptural clarification’ that ‘allows each Christian to do as stated in Galatians 6:5’.
20 March 2026 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Christians are not under the Mosaic Law. However, we obey the apostolic command to ‘abstain from blood.’ Furthermore, the Bible does not comment on the use of a person’s own blood in medical and surgical care. Therefore, like other choices about health care, each Christian must make his own decision about the use of his own blood in all medical and surgical care.”
The news page says the update will ‘clarify our position on the use of a patient’s own blood in medical and surgical care’. The quoted statement is the wording that the September 2026 Questions From Readers article attributes to this update.
Provenance and verification note for JW.org News, 2026 Governing Body Update #2
Confidence note. News page opened on JW.org on 19 September 2026 (date and description confirmed). The official English captions were opened by the independent source auditor and contain the quoted statement; the captions add: 'Some Christians may decide that they would allow their blood to be stored and then be given back to them. Others may object.' The Associated Press reported that Governing Body member Gerrit Lösch delivered the update.
Scan provenance. Official English captions file served from the JW.org content delivery network.
18 September 2026 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“After further prayerful consideration, the Governing Body has decided that this same principle applies to the four primary components of whole blood—red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets—that are derived from another person’s blood. Therefore, each Christian must make his own personal decision about the use of these four primary components in all medical and surgical care.”
The article also states that Witnesses ‘do not accept transfusions of whole blood, nor do we donate blood that would be used as a whole blood transfusion to another person’, that each Christian must decide whether to donate blood ‘for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions’, and that it reflects what was shared in the 2026 Governing Body Update #6 and will appear in a future issue of The Watchtower.
Notes. The article carries the note: ‘This article reflects what was shared in the 2026 Governing Body Update #6 and will appear in a future issue of The Watchtower.’ It also states the Governing Body ‘is not authorized to “go beyond the things that are written”’ (1 Corinthians 4:6).
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-jw-2026-0918-qfr-respect-life
20 March 2026 · Peter Smith · The Associated Press
““Each Christian must decide for himself how his own blood will be used in all medical and surgical care.””
AP attributes the statement to Governing Body member Gerrit Lösch, who said ‘the Bible does not comment on the use of a person’s own blood in medical and surgical care’. The report notes the longstanding ban on transfusions from other donors remains, quotes the 2000 Watchtower (‘we do not donate blood, nor do we store for transfusion our blood’), and quotes former member Mitch Melin: ‘From my perspective, it doesn’t go far enough.’
Provenance and verification note for Associated Press, Jehovah’s Witnesses ease policy on transfusions, allowing storage and use of one’s own blood
Confidence note. The apnews.com page could not be opened by our automated tools; the syndicated copy on ksat.com (same AP text, byline and date) was opened on 19 September 2026 and the wording confirmed.
“The organization’s longstanding prohibition on allogeneic blood transfusion remains unchanged.”
AABB, the professional body for transfusion medicine, reported that on 20 March 2026 the Governing Body ‘updated its medical guidance’ to permit members to decide whether to undergo autologous blood collection, storage and transfusion, whereas previous guidance ‘generally did not permit storage of a patient’s own blood for later use’.
Provenance and verification note for AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies) News, Jehovah’s Witnesses to Permit Autologous Blood Transfusion
Confidence note. Opened on aabb.org on 19 September 2026; wording confirmed.
A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-blood-2026-own-blood-personal/. 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.