Blood Fraction

by claudia 14 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  claudia

  Ok I need help here, I want to know how i can justify taking blood fractions, from stored and collected blood? How do i answer my relatives, the people who are the most wonderful people in the world even though they are roman catholic, they are not trying to persecute me, they love me, so i dont even want to go the persecution route.Also where is the biblical support for fractions. i feel it is selfish to take from bloodbanks, but not give in return, and on top of that hear badmouthing of bloodbanks. Simon, if you have a problem with my question, just delete it, this is your db and i want to respect you.

  Claudia

  Edited by - claudia on 30 March 2000 13:0:55
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  Stormy

  The Society now allows these parts of blood

  Awake 6/22/1982 page 25
  While these verses are not stated in medical terms, Witnesses view them as ruling out transfusion of whole blood, packed RBCs, and plasma, as well as WBC and platelet administration. However, Witnesses religious understanding does not absolutely prohibit the use of components such as albumin, immune globulins, and hemophiliac preparations; each Witness must decide individually if he can accept these.

  Watchtower 6/1/1990 page 31 Questions From Readers
  Others have felt that a serum (antitoxin) such as immune globulin containing only a tiny fraction of a donor’s blood plasma and used to bolster their defense against disease is not the same as a life-sustaining blood transfusion. So their consciences may not forbid them to take immune globulin or similar fractions.* They may conclude that for them the decision will rest primarily on whether they are willing to accept any health risks involved in an injection made from others’ blood.

  That some protein fractions from the plasma do move naturally into the blood system of another individual (the fetus) may be another consideration when a Christian is deciding whether he will accept immune globulin albumin or similar injections of plasma fractions. One person may feel that he in good conscience can; another may conclude that he cannot. Each must resolve the matter personally before God.
  *One example is Rh immune globulin which doctors may recommend when there is Rh incompatibility between a woman and her fetus. Another is Factor VIII which is given to hemophiliacs.

  Watchtower 10/1/1994 page 31
  Currently a small amount of albumin is also used in injections of the synthetic hormone EPO (erythropoietin). Some Witnesses have accepted injections of EPO because it can hasten red blood cell production and so may relieve a physician of a feeling that a blood transfusion might be needed....As noted, many Witnesses have not objected to accepting an injection that contains a small quantity of albumin.

  Awake 2/22/1995 page 21
  The doctors decided to provide alternative treatment. Plasma was extracted from the blood, and thus antibodies attacking my blood cells and kidney tissues were removed. I was then given injections of Ringer's solution together with albumin. I had discussed this treatment with the doctors and gave them written permission to administer it.
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  claudia

  Thank you, however I still cannot justify taking but not giving.
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  waystation

  Claudia, if you cannot justify it, then follow your conscience. I can see your point; however, it can be compared to the relative freedom some witnesses have in certain parts of the world, notably in the U.S. We take advantage of that freedom, but neither do we actively support the government or go to war. Many criticize us for that stand.

  The decision on whether or not to take blood fractions and what you base that decision on is between each Christian and Jehovah. Ultimately, you have to follow your own conscience.

  waystation
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  claudia

  Thank you Waystation, I see what you are saying, but war is clearly murder. its black and white. because there is no biblical suport for fractions, i cannot compare the two.
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  waystation

  Your call.
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  claudia

  This post as been read about 150 times, no one has given me biblical support for fractions, not even privately, and my email is public.
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  Frenchy

  Claudia, there is NO Biblical support for taking blood fractions anymore than there is explicit Biblical prohibition against blood transfusions. It's all in the interpretation.

  There is only ONE scripture in the Greek Scriptures that makes any mention of this and I'm sure you have read it. -Acts 15:20 Several questions come to mind immediately. One is: Can I touch blood? (Interestingly the English word 'abstain' is from French derivation and basically means 'not to hold' or 'keep from holding') Next question: Would abstinence from blood prevent me, say from using it as a fish bait? Would it prevent me from slaughtering animals since I would literally be spilling blood? What do I do with clothes that have blood on them? Do I bury the clothes? Can I swallow my own blood in the case of a mouth injury? What about a bleeding ulcer?

  So, what does the scripture mean? Most of the early Christians (certainly all of the apostles) were Jews so how would they take it? In all probablility (and that's all we have here is probability) they would take it to mean that blood was not to be eaten. So the question for us is: Is a transfusion the same as eating blood? No, it's not because transfused blood is not treated as a nutrient by the recipient's own circulatory system. It's not converted to food and used to nourish the cells. It's used in the same manner as the recipient's own blood. Thus a transfusion is nothing more than a transplant. There is no Scriptural basis for denying a transplant although the Society twisted some around for a while and made us believe there was. Now they say it's okay.

  Why is it wrong to accept your own, stored blood? It's your blood. Where does it say in Scripture that once it leaves your body that it's no longer yours? Why is it okay to take your own blood out of your body (kidney dialysis) and put it back in just because the blood doesn't stop moving? Could we then put it in a plastic bag and agitate the bag until it's time for us to use it? Like that it would never stop moving. How silly it all seems when you stop to really think about it.

  There's lots more but I don't want to clutter up the board. E-mail me if you would like to discuss it some more or we can do it here.
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  claudia

  Frenchy, i thank you for your time in responding. you make alot of sense. And something else to think about, it is not ok to reinsert your own blood back into your body, but ok to take others blood in the form of fractions? i would feel much better even medically reinserting my own blood. and cant someone get disease from certain blood fractions?
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  Frenchy

  To answer your question about possible infection from blood fractions, the short answer is yes, it's possible but very improbable. Of course the probability of contracting an infectious disease from whole blood is pretty slim also. BUT IT STILL EXISTS, nonetheless. There is also a possibility of your dying on the operating table when they are taking out your gall bladder or your tonsils, or anything else. On those occassions we balance out the risk against the benefits.

  Sad to say, many witnesses are now thoroughly confused about the whole matter and really don't know what they are allowed to do and not to do.