Past beliefs on blood transfusion
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Until 1944, the Watchtower Society did not express any criticism against blood transfusions. On the contrary, they praised the benefits of it. Organization followed and seemed to be captivated by all the new facts in this field.
Here are a few texts that show that positive attitude towards blood transfusion.
Remarkable Tale of Womanly Heroism
The remarkable story comes from California of an automobile accident involving a man, his wife, and his niece. The automobile went over the side of a cliff, killing the man. His wife and his niece, injured, lay in the bottom of the canyon for three days, awaiting discovery. Fearing the death of the child, the woman deliberately cut her arms and breast with glass from the windshield of provide blood to keep the child alive during the cold nights. The child will recover, but the heroine is expected to die. (The Golden Age December 12, 1924 p. 163).
“Blood of deceased ones saves lives of dying people”
Currently, blood transfusion is in everyday use and there is no fear of harmful results, since they were not discovered for a long time (...) Many people could feel disgusted of undergoing such a macabre operation. But when we reflect on it, we come to conclusion that this kind of invention can give humanity great services. The blood of one deceased person can save lives of a dozen or so dying people. This one consideration should convince everyone to this kind of operation, which in its essence is nothing wrong. (New Day, Polish edition), No. 3, 1936 p. 48).
The Mending of a Heart
In New York city a housewife in moving a boarder’s things accidentally shot herself through the heart with his revolver. She was rushed to a hospital, her left breast was cut around, four ribs were cut away, the heart was lifted out, three stitches were taken, one of the attending physicians in the great emergency gave a quart of his blood for transfusion, and today the woman lives and smiles gaily over what happened to her in the busiest 23 minutes of her life. (Consolation December 25, 1940 p. 19).
Some persons, however, object to changes in viewpoint, changes in understanding of certain scriptures or procedures. For example, since the 1940’s Jehovah’s witnesses have refused to give or accept blood transfusions, whereas prior to that they did not take this position. (The Watchtower August 15, 1972 p. 501, emphasis added).
The above excerpts clearly show that Jehovah’s Witnesses have had a positive approach towards transfusion, but they has changed it in diametrical way.
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