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Blood doctrine · Claim record

On 18 September 2026 the Governing Body announced 'an adjustment to our position on blood components': accepting red cells, white cells, platelets or plasma from another person became a personal decision.

Claim ID claim-blood-2026-0918-components-adjustmentConcerns 18 September 2026Later reinterpretation
Later reinterpretation · 18 September 2026 Verified

On 18 September 2026 the Governing Body announced 'an adjustment to our position on blood components': accepting red cells, white cells, platelets or plasma from another person became a personal decision. JW.org News, 18 September 2026JW.org Global News (press release), 18 September 2026JW.org (Questions From Readers), 18 September 2026

The organisation’s position or later explanation: 'In this update, we will discuss an adjustment to our position on blood components.'

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

JW.org News, “2026 Governing Body Update #6”

18 September 2026 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“In this update, we will discuss an adjustment to our position on blood components.”

The news page announces the video update, the companion Questions From Readers article and the chart ‘Products Derived From Whole Blood’, initially in English with translations to follow. It cross-references the 2026 Governing Body Update #2 on a patient’s own blood.

Official source Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page opened on JW.org on 19 September 2026; quotation and date confirmed. The official English captions were opened by the independent source auditor. The Associated Press reported that Governing Body member Geoffrey W. Jackson presented the update.

Scan provenance. Official English captions file served from the JW.org content delivery network.

Corroborated by. src-ap-2026-0918-components

Notes. The word 'adjustment' is the JW.org page description and the press release, not the spoken update. The spoken update phrases the donation point as 'donate components or fractions derived from his own blood'; the written article and press release say 'donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person'. The site follows the written text.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jw-2026-0918-gbu6

Primary JW publication Verified

JW.org Global News (press release), “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Each Witness Now Decides Whether to Accept or Donate Main Blood Components”

18 September 2026 · Office of Public Information, Jehovah’s Witnesses (Paul Gillies quoted) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“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.”

Datelined Warwick, N.Y., 18 September 2026. International spokesman Paul Gillies is quoted: 'Blood remains sacred to Jehovah's Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God. We recognize that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.' The release says Witnesses 'number over nine million worldwide across more than 200 lands'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Press release opened on JW.org on 19 September 2026; wording re-confirmed verbatim by the independent source auditor after an earlier transcription dropped 'on Friday' and 'or not'.

Corroborated by. src-jw-2026-0918-qfr-respect-life

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jw-2026-0918-press-release

Primary JW publication Verified

JW.org (Questions From Readers), “How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Show Respect for Life?”

18 September 2026 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“After further prayerful consideration, the Governing Body has decided that this same principle applies to the four primary components of whole blood—red cells, white cells, plasma, and platelets—that are derived from another person’s blood. Therefore, each Christian must make his own personal decision about the use of these four primary components in all medical and surgical care.”

The article also states that 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’, that each Christian must decide whether to donate blood ‘for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions’, and that it reflects what was shared in the 2026 Governing Body Update #6 and will appear in a future issue of The Watchtower.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Full article text opened on JW.org on 19 September 2026 and the quotations confirmed word for word.

Corroborated by. src-jw-2026-0918-gbu6, src-jw-2026-0918-press-release, src-ap-2026-0918-components

Notes. The article carries the note: ‘This article reflects what was shared in the 2026 Governing Body Update #6 and will appear in a future issue of The Watchtower.’ It also states the Governing Body ‘is not authorized to “go beyond the things that are written”’ (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jw-2026-0918-qfr-respect-life

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-blood-2026-0918-components-adjustment/. 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.