# Jehovah’s Witnesses blood transfusion policy update > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/20261006-jehovahs-witnesses-blood-transfusion-policy-update > Updated: 2026-10-06T08:30:00.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has updated its long-standing policy regarding blood transfusions. While the core religious prohibition against the transfusion of whole blood remains unchanged, the new guidelines allow individual congregants to use their personal conscience to decide whether to accept specific blood components, such as red cells, white cells, plasma, or platelets. These changes apply to allogeneic transfusions, where components are sourced from another person, and extend to decisions regarding blood donation intended for others. The updated policy also provides greater flexibility for advanced surgical treatments involving autologous blood salvage. Health officials, including South African Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, have described the shift as a “giant leap.” The change is expected to reduce the medical and legal challenges previously faced by healthcare providers, particularly in emergency and critical care settings where religious refusals often necessitated legal intervention. ## Timeline ### 2026-10-06: Jehovah's Witnesses update policy on blood component use Jehovah's Witnesses have updated their guidelines, allowing members to decide individually whether to accept or donate specific blood components like plasma and platelets, while maintaining a ban on whole blood 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/jehovahs-witnesses-update-policy-on-blood-component-use-2 ### 2026-10-02: Jehovah’s Witnesses update blood transfusion policy Jehovah’s Witnesses have updated their policy to allow members to personally decide whether to accept certain blood components, such as plasma or platelets, while still prohibiting whole blood transfusions. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/jehovahs-witnesses-update-blood-transfusion-policy-2 --- Cite as: Jehovah’s Witnesses blood transfusion policy update. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/20261006-jehovahs-witnesses-blood-transfusion-policy-update