Did I miss something? The WTS now allows Autologous Blood Transfusions?

by M.J. 23 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  M.J.

  
  Here's a portion of the Jensen letters as quoted by Marvin Shilmer:

  "In conversation it was stated to me that it is a personal conscience matter whether a Christian decides to donate blood that will be used in fractionated forms, the same fractionated forms that we likewise leave to personal conscience as to acceptance. I was told this act being left up to each Christian's conscience naturally follows from what we have already published about decisions to accept fractions of blood." Letter dated 6/9/2001 page 4.

  The Jensen Letters is the name given to a series of letters between an elder in the United States and the Watchtower Society, over the period 1998 to 2003... http://www.jwtruth.com/articles/BloodJensenLetters.aspx
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  M.J.

  elsewhere: it's scanned on the thread I linked to at the top of this thread..
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  Marvin Shilmer

  M.J.

  The WTS allows JW to accept autologous transfusions of blood (including whole blood!) so long as the transfusion is part of a “current therapy”.(1) However the WTS also strictly forbids “storing” of blood for future use. Unfortunately since the WTS nowhere defines “current therapy” then it becomes a huge gray area for the individual JW’s conscience, but without any religions repercussion. The new policy (as of 2000) allows JWs to have unlimited amounts of their whole blood completely withdrawn from their bodies (no external circuitry of nay sort!) and, for example, taken to a laboratory and tagged with radioisotopes and then, later, transfused back into their system for nuclear scanning. This is an autologous transfusion of whole blood, but it is not a transfusion of preoperative autologous blood where blood was withdrawn and stored in anticipation of surgery.

  One of the nuances of the WTS’ current policy is that it is no longer true for any Jehovah’s Witness to say that JWs abstain from transfusions of whole blood, white cells, red cells, plasma or platelets because they accept any and all of these in autologous form so long as it is part what the WTS calls a “current therapy.”

  Marvin Shilmer

  Reference:

  1. Questions from Readers, Watchtower, 2000 10/15
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  willyloman

  The new policy (as of 2000) allows JWs to have unlimited amounts of their whole blood completely withdrawn from their bodies (no external circuitry of nay sort!) and, for example, taken to a laboratory and tagged with radioisotopes and then, later, transfused back into their system for nuclear scanning. This is an autologous transfusion of whole blood, but it is not a transfusion of preoperative autologous blood where blood was withdrawn and stored in anticipation of surgery.

  Strain the gnat, swallow the camel. Unbelievable!
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  minimus

  Marvin, is it typcial that a person would thereafter have his blood returned into his body or is this theoretical?
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  Elsewhere

  Witnesses can now have the option of storing their own blood before a medical procedure?

  Item #2 says: I also refuse to predonate my blood for later infusion.

  Autologous blood transfusions are a no-no.
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  Marvin Shilmer

  Hello, minimus

  You write:

  “Marvin, is it typcial that a person would thereafter have his blood returned into his body or is this theoretical?”

  The procedure I depicted is routine.

  Marvin Shilmer
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  M.J.

  Thanks for the clarification, M.S.

  I guess until the ban on pre-donation of your own blood in anticipation of surgery is clearly removed in writing, allowance of autologous blood transfusions is of limited value...But they've opened the door to outright pre-donation in certain limited contexts so it wouldn't be that big a step for them I guess.
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  Elsewhere
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  M.J.

  Good catch, Elsewhere. Man I guess I got a little too excited

  Alright folks, nothing to see here, move along!