Many among Jehovah’s Witnesses have suffered premature death by trusting that the Watchtower organization’s teaching against blood transfusion is correct and completely valid.[1-2].
WRONG!
To underpin the veracity of its blood doctrine, in a 1979 journal article the Watchtower organization presented the case of a medical doctor who converted to the religion. When the article relates the doctor's introduction to Watchtower’s peculiar blood doctrine, right out of the box Watchtower presents readers with this statement about Noah[3-4]:
Yet, a reading of biblical text finds no mention of God telling Noah he was supposed to pour out the blood of animals on the ground, something Watchtower privately admits once it is pointed out[5]:
WRONG AGAIN!
Another attempt by the Watchtower organization to underpin its blood doctrine is to tell folks that back in Noah’s day there was no reason to specify a prohibition against transplanting blood for medicinal purposes because, according to Watchtower, this was not done back then[6-8]:
Yet, a reading of historical text finds generous mention of transplanting blood for medicinal purpose of healing as far back as recorded history.[9-13]:
Watchtower was wrong, and then wrong again about Noah and blood, and it has used this wrongness to convince folks that its blood taboo is right.
Apparently the Watchtower organization thinks two wrongs make a right!
What makes this such a pressing issue among Jehovah's Witnesses and the medical community is that this conviction taught and enforced by the Watchtower organization has led to many, many preventable deaths.
The remedy for this debacle is for the Watchtower organization to recognize and come clean about the false ideas it has promoted to underpin its blood prohibitions, and then leave the community of Jehovah's Witnesses alone to decide individually what medical treatment each wants to accept or refuse based on their Christian conscience and the best modern medicine has to offer.
Marvin Shilmer
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References
1. See Death Statistic
2. See Children Die — Watchtower Spin
3. Awake!, published by Watchtower, May 22, 1979, p. 6.
4. See also the following statement by Watchtower: 
5. Watchtower letter dated May 30, 2001. Available at: To An Elder — 2001 Watchtower letter on blood
6 The Watchtower, May 15, 1950 p. 158-9.
7 The Watchtower, June 15, 1991 p. 10.
8 The terms “transplantation” and “transplanted” are used in place of the terms “transfusion” and “transfused” because, as Watchtower also teaches, “a transfusion is a tissue transplant”. (How Can Blood Save Your Life?, published by Watchtower, 1990, p. 8). See also: “a transfusion is a transplant”. (Awake!, published by Watchtower, August 2006, p. 6); “a transfusion is nothing but a transplant”. (Awake!, published by Watchtower, August 8, 1978, p. 15)
9 Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 328.
10 Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time Vol. XIV, 1760, p. 401.
11 MacKinney, Animal Substances in Materia Medica, Journal of the History of Medicine & Allied Sciences: January 1946, pp. 149-170.
12 Sources addressing ancient uses of blood are not given to suggest the medicinal transplantations of blood are/were in each case the most efficacious remedy at the time, or that these should be applied today as in yesteryears. Rather these sources are only to show that blood used by topical transplantation for medicinal purposes has a long history dating back to the most ancient times. On the other hand, some ancient uses of blood transplantation remain with us today as viable remedies.
13 For more on ancient medicinal transplantation of blood see the articles:
Medicine Practiced in Noah’s day — and Blood
Historical Medicinal Uses of Blood
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