The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced a major adjustment to the organisation’s long-standing position on blood, allowing individual members to decide according to their personal conscience whether to accept or donate four major blood components. The change was announced on Friday, September 18, 2026, from the organisation’s World Headquarters in Warwick, New York.
Under the revised policy, Jehovah’s Witnesses may personally decide whether to accept red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma or platelets derived from another person’s blood during medical or surgical treatment. Members may also decide whether to donate blood specifically for the purpose of having its components or fractions used in the treatment of another person.
The organisation, however, stressed that the adjustment does not amount to an approval of whole-blood transfusions. Its long-standing religious position against transfusion of whole blood remains unchanged, with the organisation continuing to base the teaching on the biblical command to “abstain from blood.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses said the decision concerning the four primary components is now a matter of individual conscience because, in its interpretation, the Bible does not specifically address whether these components from another person should be accepted or donated. The organisation said members should prayerfully consider their circumstances and make decisions that allow them to maintain a clear conscience.
The latest development follows another significant clarification announced by Jehovah’s Witnesses in March 2026, when the organisation said members could personally decide whether to have their own blood removed, stored and later returned to them during medical or surgical procedures. The September decision therefore represents a further expansion of individual choice concerning blood-related medical care, while the prohibition on whole-blood transfusions remains in place.
