Jehovah’s Witnesses to Permit Autologous Blood Transfusion

March 24, 2026

The governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses updated its medical guidance March 20 to allow members to decide whether to undergo autologous blood collection, storage and transfusion as part of their care. Previous guidance generally did not permit storage of a patient’s own blood for later use; the organization’s longstanding prohibition on allogeneic blood transfusion remains unchanged.