Isn't it cruel that Jehovah's Witness member die because they refuse blood transfusion?

Question

I find it astonishing that religious beliefs can overide the right to life. Where does it say in the bible ? that you shouldn't use blood? This woman on TV just refused her own blood, they offered to recycle her own blood and use it to save her - she said no. Her husband had just died because she told the doctors that he wouldn't have agreed to a blood transfusion, he lost so much blood he died.

Maybe I am missing something here. The children who are brought up as JW - it must be abuse, do they have a choice to opt out? I feel like it's equivalent to brainwashing someone.
Can someone also explain the thing with gifts - I know JW people don't celebrate anything, nor do they accept gifts - why do they believe this?

I am just upset about someone dying because of some belief - something they were told. But each to their own I guess. I don't mean to offend anyone by the way - just trying to understand this.

Answer 1

Please provide detailed medical instances where Jehovah's Witnesses died as the sole result of not accepting a blood transfusion. Ask yourself, what is death medically speaking? People die because of respiratory or cardiac failure. (in simple terms, their heart stops beating or they stop breathing). There are many medical and surgical procedures that provide successful medical interventions not involving blood transfusions.



Your information about Jehovah's Witnesses is so faulty. We accept gifts. What you evidently mean is that we don't celebrate what YOU celebrate. But we don't have to dance to the beat of YOUR drum. Also, we don't have to have specified and predetermined times to exchange gifts.



I usually answer before reading other responses, so I just hope you come to proper and logical conclusions in answer to your questions.

Answer 2

The parent should be charged with manslaughter.

In an ideal world they would use non blood alternatives but that may not always be available.

They sadly believe that if their child dies without a blood transfusion he/she will be resurrected at Armageddon because they remained clean and loyal.

I hope their right and they meet with their children again one day.

I personally wouldn't take that chance and would do everything and anything possible to extend or save my child's life.

I have no problem with adult JWS misinterpreting the bibles instructions to not eat animals that have not been bled, after all each time one dies it is one less in the world, reducing their 0.1pc of the population.

For a kid however its morally wrong and parents should face legal action.

Why do you think SO many kids leave the JWs when they become an adult? As soon as they are free to think for themselves they are out of there.

Notice the empathy they have for unsilenced lioness, most pointing the finger and judginly accusing her of being a liar when she claims to have lost a grandparent to this issue...

This is a subject which always raises their true colours.

Same for organ transplants. That's a no no too.

Like I said Im quite ok with an adult refusing and dying, one less...but a child is a different story.

Funny how they will say a child is a gift from God yet they play God themselves when it comes to helping their child live.

I agree not all blood transfusions will save a child and as with all surgery there are risks involved but surely its a gamble worth taking?

Answer 3

It comes down to this simple fact:



When you have a blood transfusion, you do NOT eat/consume it. They didn't have blood transfusions when the bible was written. The JW's want to justify nonsense; that's their right. Leave children out of it.



I'm alive today because of blood transfusions, and millions of others as well. That is fact, not some made-up excuses from a cult.



LIFE SUPERCEDES ALL!

Answer 4

I don't think it's cruel if that's the way you want to live your life. Personally, I think it's up for a child to ultimately decide what should happen to them in case of an accident. There should be a way for the doctors to know that the child willingly decided whether to have a blood transfusion or not, according to their beliefs. If the child doesn't believe but the parent does, I consider that extreme neglect.



Adults should also have that choice. If they would rather die, well then that is their decision alone. Some people have do not resuscitate buttons/badges, does that mean that we should not listen to them simply because they have a different view on their life or death situations?

Answer 5

Acts 15:28-29 tells us to abstain from blood. While there are plenty of non-blood medical options that most doctors choose to use on non-Witness patients you only hear in the news about the rare cases where a doctor was unwilling to use a non-blood option.



We choose to obey God. The everlasting consequences of not doing so are not so great.



Our children choose to obey Jehovah because they have been shown what the Bible says and love him and want to please him.

Answer 6

You are making an assertion without proof or evidence. An assertion is not a fact.



People die from many things. People have also died because of taking blood transfusions that were unsafe. All deaths are tragic, but there is no proof that people die simply because of refusing to take blood transfusions.



"Blood Transfusions May Have Killed Millions"

http://www.jonbarron.org/heart-health-program/05-12-2008.php



There is always more than one side to a story.

Answer 7

Hard fact: The JW in Bulgaria are allowed blood transfusion since 1998. Are the other globalJW on a fog again pretending not to know that they can received blood transfusion.

I posted this link repeatedly, and I am shocked that no one seems to be aware of the allowed blood transfusion in Bulgarian.

...Jehovah's Witnesses : Bulgarian Jehovah's Witnesses Can Now Accept Blood Transfusions - It is a fact.... http://www.scribd.com/doc/3988302/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Bulgarian-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Can-Now-Accept-Blood-Transfusions-It-is-a-fact.



edit: Unsilence Lioness has suffered as consequence of internal conflict and exiting the JW org. She was disfellowshiped to the extent of breaking up her family relations. As far I am concern, disfellowshipping a member is against what Jesus teachings, love thy neighbor. Jw, blindly you missed the point.

Answer 8

No it is Not.Recall this account in the Bible..

King Saul of Israel was explicitly commanded: “Go, and you must strike down Amalek [an enemy nation] and devote him to destruction with all that he has, and you must not have compassion upon him, and you must put them to death, man as well as woman, child as well as suckling, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as ***.” (1 Samuel 15:3) The Amalekites had a history of opposing both God and his people and thus were worthy of extermination. (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) However, “Saul and the people had compassion upon Agag [the king of Amalek] and upon the best of the flock and the herd . . . , and they did not wish to devote them to destruction.” Saul’s bending the rules was not acceptable to Jehovah. “Look!” declared the prophet Samuel, “To obey is better than a sacrifice.”—1 Samuel 15:9-22.

The lesson in this is clear: There can be no flexibility when it comes to obedience to God. “For this is what the love of God means,” said the apostle John, “that we observe [God’s] commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) The experience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego illustrates just how far servants of God must be willing to go in showing this obedience. They refused to worship the image that Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar set up. Why? Because God’s law clearly condemned idol worship. (Exodus 20:4-6) They did not reason that the circumstances warranted bending this divine command. Rather, they uncompromisingly preferred death to disobedience.—Daniel 3:16-18.

When the Bible says " Flee from fornication AND Blood- one does not try and work their way around that issue.

I hope that makes things clear.

Answer 9

I find it astonishing that you just don't understand our "right to life" issues involved in rejecting blood transfusions. We value our hope for everlasting life (which lies in God's hands) more than life in this terrible world we live in today. Everlasting life is dependent on one's obedience to God.......obedience that includes abstaining from blood as God directs us to through the Bible.



Yes, you are missing something......quite a lot, actually. Our life is a gift from God. Now don't you suppose that since He gave us life to begin with, that he is also capable of restoring that life if we should die in the course of being faithful to him? Of course he is. When a parent has an obedient child and a disobedient one, which of them is more likely to be rewarded? The one who was disobedient? Absolutely not.



God directs parents in the Bible to train them properly in his ways. His ways include his laws for his people, which also includes the law that we are to abstain from blood. It would be disobeying God if parents didn't raise their children in that way and instruct them in that regard.



If any brainwashing is going on, it sounds like the Anti-JW trolls have brainwashed you from understanding our Bible-based position.



Jehovah's Witnesses DO celebrate something, the ONLY celebration the Bible directs us to observe.....which is the DEATH of Jesus (not his birth, and not his resurrection). We also give and accept gifts at any time of year. We don't do it as part of following in some false religious holiday observance, we do it out of friendship and love.



* Nothing "Unsilent Liar-ness" has ever said can be believed.

Answer 10

Hi,



We do accept non-blood alternatives like plasma expanders.



If you look here on these independent websites (not by Jehovah's Witnesses) ... you will see the myths surrounding blood transfusions about safety etc.

This information was produced so that people could make an informed choice instead of blindly accepting them as safe.



http://public-healthcare-issues.suite101.com/article.cfm/blood_transfusions_safe_medicine



http://www.jonbarron.org/heart-health-program/05-12-2008.php





They give the truthful facts about blood transfusions so that people can be educated on the real risks involved.

Although this is not the reason why Jehovah's Witnesses don't accept blood transfusions (Acts 15:28,29), it does show the wisdom in heeding our Creators advice concerning this issue.



Even if you don't agree with our religious beliefs, I'm sure you'll agree that blindly believing that they are 100% safe without researching the subject is stupidity itself ...especially in view of the fact that many surgeons & others in the medical profession refuse them.

What does that tell you?



Concerning bloodless surgery...

A little research will show you clearly that it has less complications & risks than with blood transfusions



http://www.theuniversityhospital.com/bloodless/html/aboutthecenter/bloodlesssvc.htm



http://www.cts.usc.edu/tfct-complexheartsurgeries.html

Answer 11

Unsilenced Lioness NOW has a gran who died from refusing blood (sigh). I thought I heard all her how hard-done-by stories. Let me predict the next story: she was abducted by aliens as a child and beamed aboard the Watchtower Mothership........



But to answer the question and using the answers by other Jehovah's Witnesses the line is we obey God. What ever God asks us to be obedient to then we are.

The old myth of blood transfusion or death is tired as there are alternative medical treatments available that depending on the cause of need can be used instead of blood transfusions.

Asking or expecting us to disobey God is not going to help the situation but rather educating people in the bloodless medical treatments available will.

Answer 12

My Doctor, who is Jewish, is also against blood transfusions.



On a personal level, I don't find it cruel at all. Especially when compared to all the Christians who will not share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow the lost to not have a chance to respond. That's cruel.

Answer 13

thousands of people have died because of blood transfusions it don't even make the news yet if a JW dies it is national news.



I guess dying is rare by not having blood.

Answer 14

If you research the numbers of people who have died directly from complications from diseases resulting from receiving transfused blood, you will find it is at least 20 times more than the number of people whose death is attributed to refusing a blood transfusion.



Check out



http://www.noblood.org/reasons-avoid-blood/1759-woman-dies-after-blood-transfusion.html



and this report that says "Blood Transfusions May Have Killed Millions"



http://www.noblood.org/reasons-avoid-blood/4901-blood-transfusions-may-have-killed-millions.html



Calls to mind Matthew 7:1-5 . . .Stop judging that YOU may not be judged; 2 for with what judgment YOU are judging, YOU will be judged; and with the measure that YOU are measuring out, they will measure out to YOU. 3 Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to extract the straw from your eye’; when, look! a rafter is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother’s eye.



And UNSILENCED LIAR-NESS need I say more?

Answer 15

I don't think it's cruel when a person dies following their own religion, but I do think it's cruel when the people who make up these unbiblical beliefs, knowing full well that they did not come from God peddel those beliefs for financial gain. In my opinion they're no better than drug pushers. The parents who sincerely believe that garbage are just as much victims as everyone else.



I don't know how doctors broach the situation, I would try reinforcing their love for their friend or family member and asking how God would feel if you had the power to save the person's life and God's blessing to do so and yet let that person die and then had the audacity to blame God.



I would also ask them to point to the scriptures that give them cause for concern.



When they point to deuteronomy 12, I would argue that is a summary of Leviticus 17



Leviticus 17:10-12 10 "`Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."



The point of this blood prohibition is that blood is to be considered holy becasue God set it aside to make atonement for sins. The scripture teaches the life of a creature is in the blood but this is not the literal life, blood is nothing more than simple chemical compounds like haemoglobin and salt water and immunoglobulins and a few plethora of nucleaic white corpuscules, none of these are the source of life, proof of this can bee seen by looking at blood outside the body, it decays and separates, therefore blood isn't life in the literal sense.



We know however that sin is death and atonement cancells out sin. So just as sin is (spiritual) death, so atonement is (spiritual) life. This was pointing the way to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made by giving his own blood for the sins of the world. The scriptures teach that once this sacrifice had been made there was no need for any more.



Hebrews 10:10-12 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.



Therefore all of the Old Testament laws including blood prohibition is abolished:



Hebrews 8:13 13 By calling this covenant "new", he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and ageing will soon disappear.



So all that remains is the council's letter to the gentile believers in three places in acts. These three can be treated as one scripture as they are telling the same story in the past, present and future tense. (we will write this letter, this is the letter, we did write that letter). This was a letter warning gentiles to abstain from the meat of strangled animals, from blood, from food sacrificed to idols and from sexual immorality. Well only one of these (sexual immorality) is prohibited in the rest of the new testament, as it is a sin. The rest of the a matter of food and drink and Paul made this point clear:



Colossians 2:16 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.



Jehovah's witnesses themselves argue that blood transfusion is the same as eating or drinking so this scripture should nail it for anyone with an even remotely open mind.



Giving them the truth of scipture (preferably from their own bibles) combined with reinforcing the principle that love does no harm to it's neighbour and that Jesus himself violated sabbath rules to save lives and ask them bluntly would Jehovah God be happy that they callously let someone die even when it his will that YOU save them?



If still not convinced I could put it this way, if I am wrong they can repent and be welcomed back into their fellowship as God is all about forgiveness, but if they are wrong they have passively murdered someone and there is no bringing a loved one back from the dead.

Answer 16

My husband would be DEAD or at least infected with AIDS and in the process of dying had he taken blood transfusions in his life.



He is a hemophiliac, born with a Factor VIII deficiency. For years it was the only treatment for hemophiliacs to take blood to obtain Factor VIII.



Then cryopricipitate became the in thing in the 60's and 70's.



Then it was found that this concentrated Factor had taken the pooled blood of thousands of donors and "made it available" to hemophiliacs. This increased their chances of AIDS and death by a percentage that is not even human to think about.



One out of every two !!! hemophiliacs DIED. Not only in the USA but world-wide. France was so hard hit, that the government came in and started suing the blood banks.



The other half that did not die are now infected with AIDS.



BUT the younger hemophiliacs now have recombinant factor - synthetic factor that is not from blood, and does not present those dangers.



My husband underwent 30 surgeries in 30 years and NEVER ONCE took Factor, because Jehovah's laws forbade it.



He is ALIVE because he did not take a blood transfusion. No AIDS either, or any other blood borne disease.



And a clear conscience.



Aren't you just as glad that he is alive due to NOT taking a transfusion?



I am and I know he is.



And so are his other hemophiliac relatives who are also Jehovah's Witnesses. They are alive because they DID NOT take blood. Many nephews and grand-nephews.

Answer 17

It's strange how you keep going on about blood, that we don't except it and it's murder, yet when you look at Christendom who go to war and the clergy blessing the troops, telling them to go fight in the name of God and country, how much blood have they got on there hands with all that blood shed, when God hates killing?!



There is some bitter people on here.

Answer 18

Yes they have a choice. Actually nobody makes them not accept them they have made a personal discision not to take in blood as the bible has dirrected us not to.

Answer 19

Maybe you are unaware that over 6 thousand people die from blood transfusions every year in the USA. America has at least 6 bloodless hospitals. Why?



Jehovah God asked his son to die on a torture stake for mankind, did he have a choice, yes he was a free moral person God did not force him to come to earth and die on our behalf. Jesus himself said at John 10v15-18 "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I surrender my soul in behalf of the sheep. 16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I surrender my soul, in order that I may receive it again. 18 No man has taken it away from me, but I surrender it of my own initiative. I have authority to surrender it, and I have authority to receive it again. The commandment on this I received from my Father.”



Was God wrong to ask this of his son?



The early Christians were put to death in the arena by the Romans. To escape death all they needed to do was recognise the Ceaser as a God, they refused. Why.? Because they saw the ressurected Jesus and had such strong faith that they firmly belived that Jesus would in the future resurrect them. JWS during the second world war refused to acknowledge Hitler as the furher(Savior) All they had to do was sign a piece of paper and they could go free, why didnt they. Because they too belived in the hope of the resurrection. Acts 24v15 says "and I have hope toward God, which hope these [men] themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.



There are many doctors today that will operate on JWS without blood, the famous heart surgeon Dr Yakoob will do so. There are also many doctors who themselves would not accept a bllod transfusion.



In the case of a patient that refuses blood, are there any alternative treatments?

Often simple saline solution, Ringer’s solution, and dextran can be used as plasma volume expanders, and these are available in nearly all modern hospitals. Actually, the risks that go with use of blood transfusions are avoided by using these substances. The Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society Journal (January 1975, p. 12) says: “The risks of blood transfusion are the advantages of plasma substitutes: avoidance of bacterial or viral infection, transfusion reactions and Rh sensitization.” Jehovah’s Witnesses have no religious objection to the use of nonblood plasma expanders.

Jehovah’s Witnesses actually benefit from better medical treatment because they do not accept blood. A doctor writing in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (June 1, 1968, p. 395) acknowledged: “There is no doubt that the situation where you [the surgeon] are operating without the possibility of transfusion tends to improve your surgery. You are a little bit more aggressive in clamping every bleeding vessel.”

All types of surgery can be performed successfully without blood transfusions. This includes open-heart operations, brain surgery, amputation of limbs, and total removal of cancerous organs. Writing in the New York State Journal of Medicine (October 15, 1972, p. 2527), Dr. Philip Roen said: “We have not hesitated to perform any and all indicated surgical procedures in the face of proscribed blood replacement.” Dr. Denton Cooley, at the Texas Heart Institute, said: “We became so impressed with the results [from using nonblood plasma expanders] on the Jehovah’s Witnesses that we started using the procedure on all our heart patients.” (The San Diego Union, December 27, 1970, p. A-10) “‘Bloodless’ open-heart surgery, originally developed for adult members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect because their religion forbids blood transfusions, now has been safely adapted for use in delicate cardiac procedures in infants and children.”—Cardiovascular News, February 1984, p. 5.



JWS do accept presents we do not though exchange gifts during the Christmas period or birthdays as these are looked upon as part of pagan worship. The childrten of JWS recieve many presents during the year without the need for special holidays.



I would suggest that you go to watchtower.org and look at the DVD about blood transusions.



Hope this has clarified the matter to you



Best Wishes

Answer 20

look who answered unsilenced lioness with her lies. how many people die taking of blood, many families have died. I rather listen to Jehovah God who knows best then any doctor who is always making mistakes.please read Acts chapter 15 verse 29

Answer 21

Let me clear this up for you, I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and I have given birth by casesarean section to all of my 4 children....major surgery mind you...WITHOUT BLOOD.



I have had gallbladder surgery, thyroid surgery and a tubaligation.....no blood!

There are alternatives to blood use..visit our website please http://www.watchtower.org and enter blood in the search engine.

And guess what? I'm still alive and well!

Answer 22

The JW organization is 'blood guilty' of misleading their members. If adults CHOOSE this way of thinking...that's on them. I disagree with them allowing their own CHILDREN to die because of this wavering policy! Most of children raised JW leave as adults. Many of died because of their parents beliefs. They never even had a chance!

Answer 23

when i was 14 years old (i'm 49 now) i accepted Christ as my Savior and started reading the Bible. a JW came to my door and i invited her in and studied with her. she was such a nice lady. we visited every week for about an hour for several months. then, i read in the newspaper that someone had died because they refused a blood transfusion due to being a JW.



the next time my JW friend came over, i showed her the article and asked her about it. she said that in the Bible it says we should not drink blood and we should not consume animals unless they have been bled first. she said, when you are sick in the hospital and unable to eat, how do they feed you: intravenously. she said, in this same way, transfusing blood was like drinking/consuming blood, and therefore forbidden by the Bible.



i told her i was sorry, but i couldn't accept this teaching, and that was my last experience with her or any other JW.

Answer 24

The Bible states plainly that God’s servants should not feed on blood. (Gen. 9:3, 4; Acts 15:19, 20) Hence, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses do not eat food containing blood, such as blood sausage, or accept blood transfusions.

No one should ignore God's laws in order to save themselves. What did God's son say regarding this? Jesus Christ said: “Whoever wants to save his soul [life] will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for the sake of me and the good news will save it.” (Mark 8:35) “He that is fond of his soul destroys it, but he that hates his soul [not holding life as too precious] in this world will safeguard it for everlasting life.”—John 12:25.

Treating blood as sacred and following God's laws regarding blood is the main reason for abstaining from blood.



Listed below are other good reasons to observe God's laws respecting the misuse of blood.



What Are the Risks of a Blood Transfusion?

Most blood transfusions go very smoothly. However, mild problems and, very rarely, serious problems can occur.



Allergic Reactions

Some people have allergic reactions to the blood given during transfusions. This can happen even when the blood given is the right blood type.



Allergic reactions can be mild or severe. Symptoms can include:



Anxiety

Chest and/or back pain

Trouble breathing

Fever, chills, flushing, and clammy skin

A quick pulse or low blood pressure

Nausea (feeling sick to the stomach)

A nurse or doctor will stop the transfusion at the first signs of an allergic reaction. The health care team determines how mild or severe the reaction is, what treatments are needed, and whether the transfusion can safely be restarted.



Viruses and Infectious Diseases

Some infectious agents, such as HIV, can survive in blood and infect the person receiving the blood transfusion. To keep blood safe, blood banks carefully screen donated blood.



HIV. Your risk of getting HIV from a blood transfusion is lower than your risk of getting killed by lightning. Only about 1 in 2 million donations might carry HIV and transmit HIV if given to a patient.

Hepatitis B and C. The risk of having a donation that carries hepatitis B is about 1 in 205,000. The risk for hepatitis C is 1 in 2 million. If you receive blood during a transfusion that contains hepatitis, you'll likely develop the virus.

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). This disease is the human version of Mad Cow Disease. It's a very rare, yet fatal brain disorder. There is a possible risk of getting vCJD from a blood transfusion, although the risk is very low. Because of this, people who may have been exposed to vCJD aren't eligible blood donors.

Fever

You may get a sudden fever during or within a day of your blood transfusion. This is usually your body's normal response to white blood cells in the donated blood. Over-the-counter fever medicine usually will treat the fever.

Some blood banks remove white blood cells from whole blood or different parts of the blood. This makes it less likely that you will have a reaction after the transfusion.



Iron Overload

Getting many blood transfusions can cause too much iron to build up in your blood (iron overload). People who have a blood disorder like thalassemia, which requires multiple transfusions, are at risk for iron overload. Iron overload can damage your liver, heart, and other parts of your body.



If you have iron overload, you may need iron chelation (ke-LAY-shun) therapy. For this therapy, medicine is given through an injection or as a pill to remove the extra iron from your body.

Lung Injury

Although it's unlikely, blood transfusions can damage your lungs, making it hard to breathe. This usually occurs within about 6 hours of the procedure.

Most patients recover. However, 5 to 25 percent of patients who develop lung injuries die from the injuries. These people usually were very ill before the transfusion.



Doctors aren't completely sure why blood transfusions damage the lungs. Antibodies (proteins) that are more likely to be found in the plasma of women who have been pregnant may disrupt the normal way that lung cells work. Because of this risk, hospitals are starting to use men's and women's plasma differently.



Acute Immune Hemolytic Reaction

Acute immune hemolytic reaction is very serious, but also very rare. It occurs if the blood type you get during a transfusion doesn't match or work with your blood type. Your body attacks the new red blood cells, which then produce substances that harm your kidneys.



The symptoms include chills, fever, nausea, pain in the chest or back, and dark urine. The doctor will stop the transfusion at the first sign of this reaction.



Delayed Hemolytic Reaction

This is a much slower version of acute immune hemolytic reaction. Your body destroys red blood cells so slowly that the problem can go unnoticed until your red blood cell level is very low.Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a condition in which white blood cells in the new blood attack your tissues. GVHD usually is fatal. People who have weakened immune systems are the most likely to get GVHD.



Symptoms start within a month of the blood transfusion. They include fever, rash, and diarrhea.



LOBT

Answer 25

Maybe some hold a higher conviction & trust the God of the bible & obey what the bible teaches .They may hold a higher goal than other Christians who ignore the bible .



Would you concider them better Christians if they joined a crusade to kill non-belivers just as Christians did in the past ?



Unsilenced Lioness

Are you sure it was not your father ?

Answer 26

They died beautifully in the eyes of Jehovah God. Thus they await the Resurrection hope.



Acts 24:15

Answer 27

This reminds me of the case a couple of years ago where the young girl, I think around 13 or 14, died because her parents thought they could "pray her well". I believe the state pursued charges against them. She had diabetes and with proper medical care could have had a normal life. God gives us a brain and intellect, it's up to us to use it.

Answer 28

1. There is a risk walking across the road.

2. People walk across the road.

3. Most people live after walking across the road.



1. There is a risk taking a blood transfusion.

2. People take blood.

3. Most people live after taking blood.

_______



The Watch Tower misapplies a couple of scriptures having to do with not eating blood soaked foods and participating in blood rituals of the neigboring heathen nations.

Transfusions are in no way either one of these things.



The Watch Tower uses Acts 15:19-21 & 28 from the New Testament and Leviticus 17:11-14. (also De.12:23; Gen.9:4-5).



Acts 15:20 says, "Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood."

&

Leviticus 17:12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.





These instructions are against eating and drinking blood, not blood transfusions. The Watch Tower has made receiving blood transfusions a 'matter of conscious' to release it's self from individual and tort lawsuits.



All of blood can be taken by Watch Tower followers if blood has been broken down into component parts called 'fractions'.



Most followers of the Watch Tower, called Jehovah's Witnesses, do not know they can take blood without guilt or repercussions. The facts seem to be reserved for elders and above.

Answer 29

Well, if you're dumb or evil enough to accept this nonsense, and it bites you in the ***, you can't expect me to pity you. (assuming you were a JW, or for that matter, any screwed up religion). JW's don't accept gifts? Got to try that if I'm lucky enough to have one of those nuts come to my door again. "Come in, come in , can I get you some lemonade ?"/"sure, thanks"/"oh, it's no problem, anyone who is willing to do the Lord's work deserves the gift of hospitality"/"oh, no, we couldn't impose"/"I'm insulted. Get the **** out !".

Answer 30

if you're an adult then up to you i say

if you in-danger kids health because of it then its very wrong indeed

Answer 31

Just look at it as natural selection in action.

Answer 32

If someone is so stupid that their superstitious beliefs result in their own death, you won't find me shedding any tears over them.



When they begin causing the deaths of innocent others, that's another matter.





"The children who are brought up as JW - it must be abuse, do they have a choice to opt out? I feel like it's equivalent to brainwashing someone."



Yes, I consider indoctrination to be tantamount to brainwashing. And if children die as a result of their or their parents' indoctrination, that's a crime.



But once they reach adulthood, people have to be responsible for their own actions.

Answer 33

I would be fine with it if it was really their own decision, but it is not. Their organization forbids them from having them. That is what really suck since they could let people to decide for themselves if they really were God's people and with the truth like they claim

Answer 34

Ha ha

I know, I'm totally against it to...

sad thing is... my GF is a JW

not easy for me to cope with being an Agnostic Atheist

Answer 35

I DONT CARE WHAT ........ADULT.........JWS..........DO



THEY CAN DEAL WITH THEIR OWN CHOICES.........



BUT I AM GLAD THAT THE COURT SYSTEM TAKES THAT DECISION AWAY FROM JEHOVAHS WITNESS PARENTS.........



AND DEMANDS THE CHILDREN HAVE BLOOD AS THE DOCTORS ORDERED...........



ABOUT 50 PERCENT OF CHILDREN LEAVE THE JEHOVAHS WITNESSES WHEN THEY BECOME OF AGE........



I LEFT WHEN I WAS 21.........AND AM GRATEFUL THAT THE COURT SYSTEM

PROTECTED MY CIVIL RIGHTS AS A CHILD.............

Answer 36

It is their own fault until children become involved... If someone wants to refuse treatment for themselves, that's their thing- but if they do that to a kid it should be treated as neglect and child endangerment.

Answer 37

My Grandmother died in surgery due ti this flawed cult theology. Maybe some day we will be able to litigate with the WBS for the deaths of our loved ones. OR Maybe we should just let God litigate with them

Link provides changes in blood transfusion policy....I wonder why God can not make up his mind on this one

http://jehovah.net.au/blood.html



What one does with their body is up to them. It is when they impose this ignorance on their children that they need to be stopped.

link is of Watchtower publication pictures of martyred children due to this sick edict on blood..they are actually bragging as if these dead children had any choice in the matter.

http://www.cftf.com/comments/kidsdied.html



no, LOAN - D...It was my fathers mother why do you ask?

Answer 38

Gotta thin the herd someway....

Answer 39

Distance yourself from these mind control cults.



The jehovah cult utilizes classic mind control techniques to control its adherents. The cult begins by welcoming the target into the cult. It's all smiles and hugs at fist. The cult then forbids the target to associate with anyone that is not also a cult member, including family members. Once the cult has established itself as the target's only support network, the cult threatens expulsion from the group (the jehovah cult calls this disfellowshipping) if you disobey your cult handlers in any way.