In a shift, Jehovah’s Witnesses say they will allow blood-derived products

A woman shares Jehovah’s Witnesses’ literature with a passerby in downtown Pittsburgh in 2023. Peter Smith/AP By Associated Press

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have partly eased their long-standing prohibition on the medical use of donated blood, allowing members to receive products derived from blood but maintaining a ban on transfusions of whole blood.

The policy, announced Friday, is the second revision this year in what has long been one of the most controversial and distinctive teachings of the religious organization.

The new policy says that individuals can receive products derived from blood donated by other people. It says they can receive medical treatments that involve the use of the four main components of whole blood: plasma, platelets, and red and white blood cells.