The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers (donating one's body for research / accepting transplanted organs)”
“Those who submit to such operations are thus living off the flesh of another human. That is cannibalistic. However, in allowing man to eat animal flesh Jehovah God did not grant permission for humans to try to perpetuate their lives by cannibalistically taking into their bodies human flesh, whether chewed or in the form of whole organs or body parts taken from others.”
Reasoning from Genesis 9:3-4 that replacing a diseased organ with another human's organ is a 'shortcut' equivalent to eating human flesh.
Official source (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Questions From Readers (donating one's body for research / accepting transplanted organs)
Confidence note. Opened on wol.jw.org; wording confirmed; the sentence sits after the p. 702 marker (some secondary sites cite p. 703).
Corroborated by. src-w-1980-0315-qfr-transplants-conscience
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1967-1115-qfr-transplants-cannibalistic