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Blood doctrine · Claim record

The organisation itself dates its position that Christians must abstain from blood transfusions to The Watchtower of 1 July 1945 ('Immovable for the Right Worship'; pages 198-201 as cited by secondary sources).

Claim ID claim-blood-1945-prohibition-introducedConcerns 1 July 1945Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 July 1945 Verified

The organisation itself dates its position that Christians must abstain from blood transfusions to The Watchtower of 1 July 1945 ('Immovable for the Right Worship'; pages 198-201 as cited by secondary sources). The Watchtower, 1 March 1987Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (book), 1993The Watchtower, 1 July 1945

The organisation’s position or later explanation: jv p. 183: 'When transfusions of blood became an issue confronting them, The Watchtower of July 1, 1945, explained at length the Christian view regarding the sanctity of blood.'

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “'Upon the Watchtower I Am Standing' — chart 'History-Making Watchtower Articles, Decade by Decade'”

1 March 1987 · p.13 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“1945: “Immovable for the Right Worship”—showed that Christians must abstain from receiving blood transfusions”

Chart entry in an article marking the magazine's history.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened on WOL; chart entry confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-jv-1993-recognized-by-conduct

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1987-0301-history-chart

Primary JW publication Verified

Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (book), “Recognized by Our Conduct”

1993 · p.183 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“When transfusions of blood became an issue confronting them, The Watchtower of July 1, 1945, explained at length the Christian view regarding the sanctity of blood.”

Also: 'Earlier discussions of the sanctity of blood appeared in The Watch Tower of December 15, 1927, as well as The Watchtower of December 1, 1944, which specifically mentioned blood transfusions.' And: 'beginning in 1961 any who ignored the divine requirement, accepted blood transfusions, and manifested an unrepentant attitude were disfellowshipped'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened on WOL; p. 183 confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-w-1987-0301-history-chart, src-w-1961-0115-qfr-disfellowshipping

Notes. The organisation's own dating of 1945 and 1961.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jv-1993-recognized-by-conduct

Primary JW publication Supported

The Watchtower, “Immovable for the Right Worship”

1 July 1945 · pp.198-201 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“(article not opened) — discovery sites attribute to pp. 200-201: “Among the barbarous and fierce, savage nations, such as the Scythians, Tartars, desert Arabs, Scandinavians, etc., who lived most on animal blood…””

Identified by the organisation itself (w87 3/1 p. 13 chart; jv p. 183) as the article that first set out that Christians must abstain from transfusions.

No online copy located.

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Title, date and significance verified via w87 3/1 p. 13 and jv p. 183 (both opened on WOL). The article text itself was NOT opened: not on WOL; no lawful English scan found on archive.org (the 'Watchtower 1945-1946' item there is a college newspaper; the French 1945 volume has no 'transfusion'). Quoted wording is discovery-only and must be treated as unverified.

Corroborated by. src-w-1987-0301-history-chart, src-jv-1993-recognized-by-conduct, src-ajwrb-evolution-blood-policy, src-jwfacts-blood-transfusions

Notes. A lawful scan would materially help; try library microfilm.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1945-0701-immovable

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-blood-1945-prohibition-introduced/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.