Lots of investigations needed to take place to learn about more blood, all this in order to succeed in blood transfusion. After running lots of tests, investigators discovered that it was possible to store blood and soon after, blood banks were a viable choice.
After it is donated, blood goes through specific tests before it gets to the patient’s bodies, to assure that there is no danger of transmitting infections or diseases, like AIDS, among others. In spite of this, some people refuse blood transfusions not just because of reasons that have to do with fear of catching a disease, but also with religion.
We have been able to see some specific groups within our society strongly rejecting blood transfusion. It is similar to what happens with organ donation in the sense that people usually think it is unnatural to remove someone’s organs from their –dead or alive- bodies to put them into a person who needs it, but they say it’s because of biblical reasons. I wonder though, what is wrong with medicine improving so much that can save people’s lives? What would you do if it was your mother, or brother, or son is in the need of blood transfusion and your religion forbids it?
There are people who claim in the Bible God commands you to reject blood transfusion, however I haven't found any verse that tackles with this, and I'm a good Bible reader. People sometimes misinterpret the Bible in order to their own benefit and I think it's unfair to say "you must reject blood transfusion because the Bible says so" because this is not true.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mackarena’s comment. I didn’t know that there were some religions that rejected blood transfusion. I did a little research and I found that only Jehova’s Witnesses rejected this because, for them, blood is sacred and it is only for God. In your entry, you are referring to Christians beliefs. I am Catholic and I know that Catholic Church is not against blood transfusion, or organ donation. Actually, the Pope has an organ donor card ,and he has encouraged the whole Catholic Church to promote this practice as an act of love. The only issue for catholics has to do with brain death. Catholicism allows organ donation only when the donor has died in a natural way, otherwise, it would be euthanasia.
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ReplyDeleteExcuse me! Your entry really got my attention because I have a particular opinion about it. I’m not a religious person but I have read the bible twice. I can quote a passage from the Bible that shows the "prohibition" of blood: “The holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication.” (Acts 15:28, 29; 21:25) So, according to this command, Christians – understanding by Christians those who follow Jesus and obey what the bible says -- must ‘keep abstaining from blood.’ I think that this command to abstain from blood includes blood transfusions. I can write an example to illustrate this: Suppose a doctor were to tell you to abstain from alcoholic beverages. Would that simply mean that you should not drink alcohol but that you could have it injected into your veins? Of course not! Likewise, abstaining from blood means not taking it into our bodies at all. So the command to abstain from blood means that Christians would not allow anyone of them to transfuse blood into our veins. This is how I, personally, see and understand this issue. Obviously, I suppose that Christians would not want to die. I know that Jehovah’s Witnesses accept other kinds of treatments that do not involve the use of blood and they have succeeded to live successfully. Personally, I do not accept blood transfusions, but it is basically because (as far as I have read) is healthier. Besides, there a plenty of other better and more advanced treatments that blood is not included. And if you look for information or talk with doctors and nurses, you will see that they also do not accept it (neither for themselves nor their families). So, I wonder myself: Why doctors, those who support blood transfusions, refuse to have one for them or their families?
ReplyDeleteI want to say two things:
Delete1º That doctors don't accept blood transfusions and what the Bible says are two different things, so you can't mix them.
2º As I said in the first comment is all about interpretation, people interpret the Bible in different ways. I have read the passage that you quote and Jehova is telling the Jews not to eat the animals before they removed the blood. It has to do with hygiene.
3º Maybe you cannot interpret the Bible as I do because I'm Christian. You cannot take a passage from a chapter and interpret it by itself. You have to read the whole chapter to understand what God wants to convey.
I must say I never talked about christians, I didn't even want to mention Jehova's Witnesses. I think Natalyn has a sound point and I will make a little research on why doctors don't like to receive blood transfusions.
ReplyDeleteI'm quoting from your post: "but they say it’s because of biblical reasons". So if you say that are groups that refuse blood transfusions because of biblical reasons you are referring to Christian community, regardless the religion. Because everyone who follows Jesus and live his/her life according to what Jesus said is Christian, no matter if the person is Catholic or Protestant.
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