Blood workbook

[Dean Brown]

Hi brothers and sisters a few years ago I managed to get a no blood workbook off here and now I can’t find it. It had all the references needed

does anyone have this or know where I can get it please

[JW Insider]

The attached might have been what you were looking for. I would be careful with how such a document is used. I haven't checked if it is up to date, and the use of such material, in case of future issues, could make it obvious to medical or legal professionals that decisions are not actually based on personal conscience, but on opinions provided through excerpts from Watch Tower publications included in the workbook.

(For example, if someone states that he or she has based their "conscience" on the workbook, and then decides to update their "conscience" after finding out that the workbook was not exactly up to date with Watch Tower publications, then it might be difficult to argue that their decision was really based on their own conscience.)

209283018-Blood-Workbook-to-Assist-With-Conscience-Matters-Involving-Blood.pdf

[Dean Brown]

Thank you so much this is what I was after

[Evacuated]

2 hours ago, JW Insider said:

I would be careful with how such a document is used.

HLC is the place to go in advance if possible when there is an issue. It's a tough call for DIY on these matters. 

[Anna]

6 hours ago, Gone Fishing said:

It's a tough call for DIY on these matters.

Unless you know what you're talking about yourself of course. I believe each brother and sister owes it to themselves to get familiar with the issue as much as possible, because then they can speak with knowledge, instead of relying on someone else to speak for them.

[Anna]

9 hours ago, JW Insider said:

then it might be difficult to argue that their decision was really based on their own conscience

Couldn't they just say it was based on new information?

 

[Evacuated]

4 hours ago, Anna said:

get familiar with the issue as much as possible

Agreed.

HLC can help on this. The brothers cannot make your decisions of course. It is a personal stand whatever happens. As stated earlier, printed and published material, which is the source of information for most, goes out of date. Finding a suitable practioner can also be a challenge.

I always consult before acting on what I don't do every day. In this case, it's more about being informed well enough to convince others that I know what I am choosing. The action is for others more qualified and more experienced on the practical side. Medical operations are an area where DIY is usually inadvisable. I am no Evan O'Neill Kane, and despite monumental respect, would doubt my ability to match Inez Ramirez.

[JW Insider]

5 hours ago, Anna said:

Couldn't they just say it was based on new information?

Yes, and I'm all for advance preparation and written directives. But as I read the reviews of doctors who try to make sense of our general position about blood from a logical point of view I see that the medical literature already includes assumptions about us that we merely follow the direction of the "Watchtower" and call it "conscience." There have been additional articles in the medical literature that warn doctors that this assumption can be wrong, not because of any variations in how individual Witnesses treat fractions, but because so many Witnesses have evidently told doctors privately that they want all blood products that the doctor considers to be necessary, but that they don't want their family or congregation finding out about it if at all possible.

The Watchtower's compromise on the blood issue by allowing fractions has greatly reduced the latter problem just mentioned, because most major Western hospitals have known the benefits of using and storing specific processed components for various purposes instead of using and storing expensive and wasteful whole blood products.

On the Biblical issue of "individual conscience" vs "law" the spiritual concern should be that we have put ourselves under law in this regard if we have not made up our own mind. Among many of the Watchtower's writers, it had long been recognized that the expression "Bible-trained conscience" is merely a euphemism for "law."

I think this topic was broached already here:

 

[Evacuated]

9 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Yes, and I'm all for advance preparation and written directives.

Me too!

This topic could (maybe will) be discussed for pages and pages of posts. BUT some things that come to mind immediately.

1. Not all who serve Jehovah are as well appraised of aspects of this issue as some here appear to be.

2. Emergency situations preclude deliberations of a semi-philosphical nature on the rightness and wrongness of a multitude of therapies and legal issues in "non-blood" medical management.

3. The existence of "educated" brothers who can assist in the fast-tracking of decisions in this regard in the face of a medical/legal minefield is much appreciated. I don't know how well-developed this provision is on an international scale however.

4. We have had no end of reminders on the need for "go" or "grab" bags in the case of real emergencies such as hurricane, earthquake, civil disorder, and numerous other scenarios that could befall us at times. Are we as well or worse prepared (or even as unprepared) for the medical emergencies involving blood loss that could befall any one of us at any time?