Blood dropsOther than the obvious I mean – we all need it after all.   But I was thinking primarily about the infamous stance of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in not allowing blood transfusions.  Well actually I started off by thinking about organ donation.  I’d watched  a number of programmes on the topic, and was amazed at how many of the recipients stated that after the transplant, they found themselves doing or saying things out of character for them, but when they talked to the donor’s family quite often they’d discover the traits were very much those of the donor!!   I think that was the point where I determined transplants were out for me for the foreseeable (both giving or receiving of!!).   But it then started me thinking about it all from a more spiritual perspective given the Drs were at a bit of a loss as to explain it other than in terms of simple DNA transfer and how they figured that the “persona” must somehow be wrapped up in the DNA in some way they don’t yet understand.  

Initially I sort of thought they were possibly on the right track, but then thought that can’t be the case either.   We are SO not our bodies – otherwise we would remain trapped in them after death, but our spirit and soul immediately go to be with Jesus on death, and as we will be totally aware of who we are and know everything about our lives that’s the part that is US in essence, and I can’t see how any part of our soul or spirit could be transferred to anyone before or after death.   So if anyone has any thoughts on that aspect fire away as I’d love to hear them!

blood transfusionBut then I started thinking on further and that’s how I ended up looking more closely at the whole concept of blood and where it fits into this whole issue.   And I ended up concluding that while I absolutely totally and fully consider JWs to be a cult and totally unscriptural in their beliefs, I could sort of see where they were coming from on this point of not accepting even blood transfusions.   Don’t get me wrong – I fully appreciate we’re no longer “under the Law,” but there’s just something about this issue that’s captivated me which quite often means the Holy Spirit at work, and that’s why I’m trying now to gain some counsel from the wider Christian community out there.   

If you work through scripture however, God does indeed put a lot of emphasis on blood and how it is not just vital for life, but obviously without the (appropriate) shedding of it, there is no remission of sins etc, which is why Jesus had to die ultimately.   And it just makes me wonder if somehow even blood transfusions while perhaps considered extremely important in worldly terms, are somehow against God’s code of conduct.   Ultimately I don’t think scripture actively prohibits such a thing even though it wasn’t practiced in biblical times I don’t think, and I suspect regardless of that, if God had wanted to ensure we knew it was indeed against His Will He would have ensured it was written in there somewhere.   And that’s what I sort of want to know – apart from the verses that the JWs sometimes throw out do any of you know of any others for or against the concept??  Do you feel that regardless of the importance placed on it in scripture, that such transfusions and/or transplants even would be perfectly acceptable no matter what the possible spiritual repercussions may be??   Would you want someone else’s DNA (and lets face it, blood is and has DNA in it!) floating around in your bloodstream??   Truly looking for a scriptural debate on this, but open to anyone’s view – Christian or otherwise Smiley!  Would actually quite appreciate a Jewish perspective on this (hence my tag for Judaism) if anyone’s up for it?

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