by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Sep 19, 2026 | Historical Policy Evolution, Clinical Guidance & Practice, JW Crisis Management, Patient Management
Last updated September 26, 2026 The Jehovah’s Witness blood policy changed substantially in 2026. On March 20, Jehovah’s Witness leadership made the use of a patient’s own blood in medical and surgical care a matter of individual conscience.1 On September 18,...
by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Sep 18, 2026 | Clinical Guidance & Practice, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent
Originally published September 18, 2026 |Last updated September 19, 2026 The Jehovah’s Witness blood policy changed substantially on September 18, 2026. In Governing Body Update #6 and an accompanying “Questions From Readers” article, Jehovah’s Witness leadership...
by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Aug 9, 2026 | Bioethics & Medical Ethics, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent
Published March 22, 2026 | Last Updated September 20, 2026 Progress, Accountability, and the Future of Blood Policy Jehovah’s Witness Blood Policy 2026: What Changed? On March 20, 2026, Jehovah’s Witnesses changed their policy regarding the medical use of a...
by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Jul 23, 2026 | Bioethics & Medical Ethics, Hematology & Biomedical Science, JW Crisis Management, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent
2026 Retrospective Note: The epidemiological projections established in this 2017 paper remain an important framework to tracking historical policy impacts. Notably, the March 2026 reclassification of preoperative autologous blood donation (PAD) to a matter of...
by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Jul 10, 2026 | Hematology & Biomedical Science, Historical Policy Evolution, Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, JW Crisis Management
How a thirteen-year prohibition based on theology and disputed medical claims shaped life-and-death decisions for thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Introduction Key Context: Between 1967 and 1980, Jehovah’s Witnesses were taught that accepting a...
by Lee Elder, Executive Director - AJWRB | Jul 5, 2026 | Institutional Policy & Watchtower Reform, JW Crisis Management, Medico-Legal Liability & Informed Consent, Pediatric Bioethics & Minor Rights
Introduction The refusal of blood transfusions by Jehovah’s Witnesses is widely recognized within medical ethics as an expression of religious conscience and patient autonomy. However, when clinicians are evaluating Jehovah’s Witness informed consent, the...
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