@Deeje , thanks for your detailed reply. I hope my tone has not been too contentious; I'm unsure of my own worldview and am here to learn.
Yes, organ transplants were VERY dangerous and are still high risk. I'm sure they would not be performed unless the alternatives were worse.
You said:
"I am grateful to my brothers for not rushing into this without due regard for its efficacy and compatibility with Bible principles."
Fair enough. But I doubt
anyone rushes into a decision for organ transplant, or ever did. Reflection, weighing up options and gathering information are all important. But cautions for medical reasons are
entirely different from forbidding an option on religious grounds. Which was what the WT Governing body did.
No it was not the governing body who said we must not consume blood...it was God who said this. It is one of the most important commands in the Bible. Repeated down through thousands of years of history.
It is the opinion of the medical profession generally that blood is safe medicine...the specialist doctors who deal with this issue are now saying that blood is not as "safe" or "life saving" as it was once thought to be....What a difficult message to get across to indoctrinated medical people.....who are the brainwashed ones really? Who can't be told?
"As we have said many times now, we do not fear death, so making a fuss about dying is pointless if we are all going to die sooner or later anyway. We love life, but it is the life to come that is way more important to us than living in this poor excuse for an existence. If I could stop the world, I would want to get off. I hate what humans are doing to each other and to the planet itself. Dying would actually be a big relief for many. There are much worse things than dying."
I'm sincerely sorry you feel like this and devoutly hope your life becomes happier.
I cannot be truly happy when the world is in such a mess. Feeling for suffering humanity will not often let me appreciate the beautiful surroundings in the peaceful place I happen to live. Politically, commercially and religiously, the world is spiraling out of control. No one can fix this mess but God. How can anyone be truly happy, knowing that others are starving and have no place to call home?
"God's law on blood has been around since the days of Noah. It remains unchanged to this day. Blood is sacred to God and he forbids its consumption in any manner. Christians are told to "abstain from blood" and to refrain from eating unbled meat. These two commands were part of a short list of "necessary things" required for all Christians. Both pertained to the consumption of blood. (Acts 15:28, 29) God doesn't change his mind on something this important to him.
Blood fractions are also relatively new on the scene. Research has shown us that many of these fractions are passed naturally from mother to child in the womb, despite the fact that their blood is often a completely different blood group and can be missing factors that the mother's blood possesses. (e.g. the RH factor)"
Agreed. But if you interpret 'abstain from' to apply to transfusions, then surely it must mean to 'abstain from' fractions also. Would it be ok to eat fractions of a black pudding?
Also the natural transfer of blood components to a baby in utero is not relevant. Otherwise you could argue for abortions (which I understand are also not permitted to jws) because miscarriages occur naturally.
"Fractions are derived from the four primary blood components—red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. For example, red cells contain the protein hemoglobin. Products developed from human or animal hemoglobin have been used to treat patients who have acute anemia or massive blood loss.
Plasma—which is 90 percent water—carries scores of hormones, inorganic salts, enzymes, and nutrients, including minerals and sugar. Plasma also carries clotting factors, antibodies to fight disease, and such proteins as albumin. If someone is exposed to a certain disease, doctors might prescribe injections of gamma globulin extracted from the plasma of people who already had immunity. White blood cells may be a source of interferons and interleukins, used to treat some viral infections and cancers.
Should Christians accept therapies incorporating blood fractions? The Bible does not give specific details, so each one must make his own conscientious decision before God."
This is our official stance on fractions. No one is to judge the conscience of another.
"Since I am sure there will be many more who die in spite of receiving a blood transfusion, than those who die from refusing one"
You have said this many times and it is still not substantiated.
The medical profession cannot substantiate that blood saved most of the people to whom it was administered. The findings in the OP suggest that people lived in spite of the transfusion rather than because of it. Our own experience demonstrates that doctors cannot say with any certainty who will live or die...blood or no blood. The majority of our brotherhood who were told that they
would die without blood...didn't....and they recovered well and in record time. You do understand that this is by far our most common experience?
"I believe many doctors should be sued for damages for giving patients unnecessary blood transfusion, and putting them at risk for no good reason"
Then shouldn't the WT be sued when forbidding an organ transplant led to unnecessary death?
Jehovah's Witnesses respect the recommendations of our governing body and they have proven to be correct for the most part. We do not insist that others obey their direction, but we value their guidance and look forward to the restoration of life in the new world that we are awaiting. That is where the "real life" awaits all who are faithful and obedient to God's commands. (1 Tim 6:19)
LOL
