Why do some patients refuse blood transfusions but accept fractions derived from blood that was donated by others?
• Some cite Deuteronomy 14:21 as a basis for accepting fractions derived from blood that was mishandled by others. There in the Mosaic Law, an Israelite was commanded: “YOU must not eat any body [already] dead. To the alien resident who is inside your gates you may give it, and he must eat it; or there may be a selling of it to a foreigner, because you are a holy people to Jehovah your God…” Accepting blood fractions that were derived from individuals who, from God’s view, improperly donated their blood may perhaps be the same as accepting payment or benefiting from the sale of an unbled animal to a foreigner. [1] [1] [1] Also one did not have to to extremes in the Bible to remove every trace of blood if the animal was properly bled. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that blood represents the life of the person and it is up to the individual Witness to decide if they feel that a fraction derived from blood still represents the life of the person.
