Why Don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses Take Blood?

Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse transfusions of whole blood. They cite the command to abstain from blood in Acts 15:29, read with Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17. On 18 September 2026 the Governing Body announced that accepting red cells, white cells, plasma, or platelets is now a matter of personal conscience. Whole blood remains forbidden in that announcement.

Key points

• Genesis 9:4“Show the words of Genesis 9:4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.King James Version (2): “flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
• Leviticus 17:10–14“Show the words of Leviticus 17:10–14^17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ^17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. ^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. ^17:13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. ^17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.King James Version (3) forbids eating blood, because “the life of the flesh is in the blood,” and because blood is given on the altar.
• Acts 15:28–29“Show the words of Acts 15:28–29^15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; ^15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.King James Version (1) tells Gentile Christians to abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from fornication.
• The jw.org FAQ “Why Don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses Accept Blood Transfusions?” calls the refusal religious, cites those texts, and says Witnesses seek medical care and do not practice faith healing. (4)
• The 18 September 2026 news release says the decision to accept the four main components “is a matter of personal conscience,” and that the refusal of whole-blood transfusion is unchanged. (6)
• The article “How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Show Respect for Life?” says the congregation will not get involved in a decision about components or fractions. (5)

What their publications say

The FAQ on jw.org answers “Why don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses accept blood transfusions?” in these words: (4)

This is a religious issue rather than a medical one. Both the Old and New Testaments clearly command us to abstain from blood. (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:10; Deuteronomy 12:23; Acts 15:28, 29) Also, God views blood as representing life. (Leviticus 17:14) So we avoid taking blood not only in obedience to God but also out of respect for him as the Giver of life.

The same page rejects two charges. “Myth: Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe in medicine or medical treatment. Fact: We seek the best possible medical care for ourselves and our families.” And: “Myth: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that faith will heal a person’s ailments. Fact: We do not practice faith healing.” Those sentences are theirs. The refusal is not a rejection of doctors.

Their article “How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Show Respect for Life?” quotes the New World Translation of Acts 15:28–29: (5)

For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!

The article then says what they have understood that command to require: “Jehovah’s Witnesses have understood Acts 15 to mean they should not consume whole blood, either by mouth or by transfusion, and that they should not donate blood.” It says they had also applied the principle to “the four main components of blood—red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets.”

The change dated 18 September 2026

A news release from their World Headquarters in Warwick, New York, is dated 18 September 2026 and titled “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Each Witness Now Decides Whether to Accept or Donate Main Blood Components.” It says: (6)

The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses announced on Friday that the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience. Likewise, each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person. The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged.

Paul Gillies, identified there as international spokesman, says: “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God,” and “medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.” The release says the adjustment follows earlier updates on blood fractions and on the use of a patient’s own blood, and that “the same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.” It also says: “Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience.”

The library article states the same rule in the organization’s own voice and adds a limit the news release also draws: “Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept transfusions of whole blood, nor do we donate blood that would be used as a whole blood transfusion to another person. We also do not eat blood or unbled meat. However, whether to accept components or fractions derived from another person’s blood is a decision for each Christian to make.” It says the Governing Body is not authorized to “go beyond the things that are written,” and that “the congregation will not get involved in that decision, and individual Christians should not judge others.” A note at the end says: “This article reflects what was shared in the 2026 Governing Body Update #6 and will appear in a future issue of The Watchtower.”

The 2026 pages state the rule with a date: whole blood still refused; the four primary components, fractions, and a patient’s own blood left to conscience; congregations told not to judge that conscience. Those pages do not date the start of the transfusion ban, and they do not publish a judicial penalty for accepting whole blood. The FAQ’s general refusal was still on jw.org when the 2026 pages were fetched.

What Acts 15 is doing

Acts 15:28–29“Show the words of Acts 15:28–29^15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; ^15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.King James Version, King James Version:

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

The decree is a short list for Gentile Christians so that they and the Jewish church can eat together. “Meats offered to idols,” “blood,” “things strangled,” and “fornication” are foods and a sexual sin. “Things strangled” are animals not drained in the ordinary way of butchering. Genesis 9:4“Show the words of Genesis 9:4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.King James Version is the older food law: “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” Leviticus 17:10–11“Show the words of Leviticus 17:10–11And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.King James Version:

And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Leviticus 17:14“Show the words of Leviticus 17:14For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.King James Version: “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” The verb is eat. The setting is meat on a table, and, in Israel, blood poured at the altar. A transfusion is not a meal, and it is not a sacrifice. The life is in the blood in Leviticus so that blood can be put on the altar for atonement, which is why Christians read the food law as pointing to the cross, not as a standing ban on a medical procedure the text does not mention. Hebrews 10:10“Show the words of Hebrews 10:10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.King James Version says we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The blood that the new covenant is concerned with is that offering.

The Witness reading is a real extension: if blood must not be eaten because it stands for life, then it must not enter the veins either. Their own 2026 article now says the Scriptures “do not comment on the various products that may be derived from blood,” and it leaves components to conscience for that reason. That concession is already an admission that Acts 15 does not name red cells, plasma, or a transfusion. The same silence covers whole blood used as medicine. Eating and transfusing are both uses of blood. Only eating is what Genesis, Leviticus, and Acts prohibit in so many words.

1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10:25–29“Show the words of 1 Corinthians 10:25–29^10:25 Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: ^10:26 For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. ^10:27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. ^10:28 But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof: ^10:29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?King James Version show how the apostles handled the other food item on the same list, meat offered to idols: it is lawful, and it is limited by a brother’s conscience. The Jerusalem list was not a new Torah of medical rules. Did Paul invent Christianity? and the Witness articles on Scripture, including the Watchtower and Scripture, are the places where authority to extend a text is the argument.

Frequently asked questions

Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions?

Their FAQ says both Testaments command abstinence from blood, that blood represents life, and that they avoid taking it in obedience to God. The 18 September 2026 release keeps that refusal for whole blood and moves red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets to each Witness’s conscience.

Does the Bible say anything about blood transfusions?

It forbids eating blood. Genesis 9:4“Show the words of Genesis 9:4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.King James Version, Leviticus 17:10–14“Show the words of Leviticus 17:10–14^17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ^17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. ^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. ^17:13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. ^17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.King James Version, and Acts 15:29“Show the words of Acts 15:29That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.King James Version use the language of food. They do not mention a transfusion, a component, or a surgery. The 2026 jw.org article says the Bible does not comment on products derived from blood, and it applies that silence to the four main components.

What happened to the rule on fractions and a patient’s own blood?

The 18 September 2026 release says earlier updates had already left fractions, and the use of one’s own blood in medical care, to individual conscience, and that the same reasoning now covers the four main components and donating blood so that components or fractions can be used by someone else. Donating blood for a whole-blood transfusion is still refused, in the words of the library article.

What is the only holiday Jehovah’s Witnesses observe?

Their Memorial of Jesus’ death. That question belongs to Do Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate birthdays and Christmas?, which quotes their pages on holidays and on the Memorial.

Keep reading

• Do Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate birthdays and Christmas?
• The Watchtower and Scripture
• How reliable is the New World Translation?
• Is Jesus God?