Jehovah's Witnesses update policy on blood component transfusions

The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses has announced a significant shift in religious doctrine regarding medical blood treatments. Following an update released in September 2026, members are now permitted to decide based on their personal conscience whether to accept or donate the four primary blood components: red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets.

This decision marks a major departure from a policy that had been in place for over eighty years. While the organization continues to strictly prohibit whole-blood transfusions from other donors—citing biblical instructions to ‘abstain from blood’—it has determined that the use of specific components is a matter of individual conscience between the believer and God. This follows a previous update in March 2026 that allowed for autologous blood use (the patient's own blood).

International spokesperson Paul Gillies stated that the organization views blood as sacred but recognizes that medical decisions involving its components are personal matters. The new guidance also applies to blood donation, allowing members to decide if they wish to donate blood specifically for the purpose of providing these components or fractions to others. Congregations have been instructed not to interfere with or judge these individual medical choices.