Brother calls for apology after Jehovah’s Witnesses change blood transfusion rules

Jacob Valdez, who had previously left the Jehovah’s Witnesses, told the BBC he believes his twin brother Isaac might still be alive if the faith’s leaders had changed their teaching sooner. He wants them to offer a “straightforward apology”.

Isaac, 26, died on 26 August after suffering a brain haemorrhage. On 18 September, the faith’s Governing Body announced that accepting donated red or white blood cells, plasma or platelets would become a matter of individual conscience. Its religious objection to transfusions of whole blood remains.

Most transfusions use separated blood components rather than whole blood. The change gives Jehovah’s Witness patients a choice over treatments that were previously prohibited.

The BBC reported that Isaac had an epileptic seizure in a library, fell and struck his head. He carried a card saying he did not want blood, and confirmed that wish after briefly regaining consciousness in hospital.

When his condition deteriorated, a neurosurgeon told his family that an emergency operation requiring a transfusion was the only way to save him. The family decided to respect his wishes.

The BBC report does not specify which blood product the operation required. It is not known whether Isaac would have made a different decision under the revised teaching, or whether he would have survived the surgery.

Paul Gillies, an international spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, told the BBC that some members might still choose to refuse a transfusion. He said the organisation was sympathetic to people who had lost family members and that their concerns deserved a compassionate hearing.

Bas Gerritse, a cardiac anaesthetist at the Amphia hospital in the Netherlands, told Dutch broadcaster NOS that the change could make care simpler and safer for patients who choose to accept transfusions.