Stem cells - Watchtower position

by Dagney 16 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  smiddy

  How can anyone take Jehovah`s Witnesses seriously on any given medical treatment/procedure whether it`s a conscience matter or not .

  They are dead set against Blood Transfusions , against a JW donating blood even for their own use .at a later date.

  Their stated scripture belief is "that it should be poured out on the ground" not to be used for any purpose .

  In the 1960` to ? , you would be DF if you persisted in using Blood and Bone fertilizer ( and isn`t that blood poured out on the ground ) ? So what was the problem their ?

  The inconsistency arises where they allow a Jw to use Fractions of Blood as a conscience matter .?

  Where do they think Blood fractions come from ? It is Blood donated by worldly people , ( mainly Apostate Christendom people) used in a blood bank laboratory and processed into it`s various fractions ( It is not poured out on the ground , and it IS used for a purpose )

  How can that be a conscience matter ?

  So why take any notice of what the GB says about Medical procedures ?

  Stem Cell , Organ transplants , Blood Fractions or anything else ?

  Sorry Dagney , I appreciate you wanting to help a relative , and if you find a loophole in the Societys doctrines good for you .

  , I wish you and your relative the best .

  smiddy
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  Dagney

  I'm with you smiddy. I was raised by parents suspicious of everything promoted by a cult that loved to fabricate "special knowledge" from random words in a bronze age text. None of it is logical. And a BIG pet peeve is they gladly take sanitized life saving products from donated blood of their enemies. JW's are takers...never giving back to any system designed for the good of all.

  This particular treatment is alternative and not done in the USA. The stem cells come from who knows where, I don't care...the results are astounding, life saving. I think it is too radical for my JW family, sadly, because I know it would help. This is not in the AMA wheel house. I will pursue it myself once my broken hand heals. Maybe I'll plant a seed that way.

  I appreciate so much the contributions of all on this board. The knowledge and abilities are amazing and together we are a force to be reckoned with.
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  OrphanCrow

  When it comes to discussing the JWs and stem cells, it is interesting to note that the technology that is used by the bloodless surgery crowd is the same technology that was developed in response to the discovery of stem cells.

  Stem cells were discovered in the late 60s (yay Canada!) and the Haemonetics cell saver came onto the market right on the heels of that discovery. The original cell saver was just that - a cell saver for harvesting stem cells. That same technology was discovered to be handy for JWs undergoing surgery...and it was developed into what we now know as bloodless surgery.

  The two fields of medical inquiry are intimately related - bloodless surgery and stem cell harvesting came about from the same technology
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  Dagney

  That is interesting OrphanCrow. Who knew!

  Stem cell seem to be the answer to almost any illness. One lady from Australia has 3 kidneys! One was transplanted, one hers, and another one is growing. When she is done she is going to donate the transplanted one back into the system. Her medical doctors are speechless.

  So yay Canada for getting the ball rolling!
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  Vidiot

  They'd reject 'em...

  ...right up until the moment a GB member needed treatment.

  Then we'd get New Light. :smirk:
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  OrphanCrow

  Dagney, a couple of little pieces of trivia concerning stem cells and such...

  Stem cell technology/biotechnology is one of the riskiest and most volatile markets to invest in (see The Golden Cell by Karen Van Kampen).

  Bloodless surgery was the field of biotechnology that profited the most after the AIDS epidemic in the 80s/90s (see Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce by Douglas Starr).

  Bloodless surgery owes its existence to private investors (pg 235, The Red Market by Scott Carney) :

  Take the demand for blood. While stocks of blood in the first half of the last century meant surgeons could develop vastly improved surgical techniques, certain religious groups - most notably the Jehovah's Witnesses - were opposed to any sort of blood transfusion. Over the years the complete lack of demand led to private investment and eventually to great strides forward in the field of bloodless surgeries.

  It sure would be interesting to know who those "private investors" were. Whoever they were/are, they sure would have a vested interest in keeping the blood ban alive and well.
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  Dagney

  OrphanCrow, I sure remember the boom when the AIDS epidemic hit. My doctor even told me, "well, I guess you guys had it right!" In my smug arrogance at the time, I agreed. sigh

  Sooooo, the co-worker who had the treatment came back to work today. She told her JW brother about the treatment because his wife has RA. I think he might have called Bethel because my coworker said "he checked with the society and it is up to his own counsel." Coworker doesn't know to use the word "society"; she is 100% Catholic and teaches catechism.