Child birth: Jehovah’s Witness dies in Port Harcourt after refusing blood transfusion

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) has gathered that a certain Victoria Paris, a resident of Port Harcourt, southern Nigeria, a mother of four children, has passed away after reportedly rejecting a blood transfusion.

Her brother-in-law, Chris Adams, narrated that she had a preterm labour in the 7th month of the pregnancy and was rushed to Standard Maternity Hospital at Borikiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A team of doctors conducted a cesarean section on her and after the procedure, she was short of blood and needed urgent transfusion.

, the owner of the hospital said, blood transfusion is against her religious belief, and so, she won’t transfuse.

Why don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses accept blood transfusions?

A visit to the Jehovah’s Witnesses website will reveal more.

It is generally believed that the question of blood is a religious issue, rather than a medical one.

Of course, both the Old and New Testaments clearly command us to abstain from blood. (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:10; Deuteronomy 12:23; Acts 15:28, 29).

Also, God views blood as representing life. (Leviticus 17:14)

So Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid taking blood not only in obedience to God but also out of respect for him as the Giver of life.

Furthermore, Wikipedia writes: “Jehovah’s Witnesses’ literature teaches that their refusal of transfusions of whole blood or its four primary components—red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma—is a non-negotiable religious stand and that those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain life by taking in blood, even in an emergency.

“Witnesses are taught that the use of fractions such as albumin, immunoglobulins, and hemophiliac preparations are not absolutely prohibited and are instead a matter of personal choice.

“The doctrine was introduced in 1945 and has undergone some changes since then.

“Members of the group who voluntarily accept a transfusion and are not deemed repentant are regarded as having disassociated themselves from the group by abandoning its doctrines and are subsequently shunned by members of the organization.”

Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Jehovah’s Witnesses is a denomination of Christianity that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century.

The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist.

A leadership dispute after Russell’s death resulted in several groups breaking away, with Joseph Franklin Rutherford retaining control of the Watch Tower Society and its properties.

Rutherford made significant organizational and doctrinal changes, including adoption of the name Jehovah’s witnesses in 1931 to distinguish the group from other Bible Student groups and symbolize a break with the legacy of Russell’s traditions.

In 2024, Jehovah’s Witnesses reported a peak membership of approximately 9 million worldwide.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for their evangelism, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake!, and for refusing military service and blood transfusions.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the destruction of the present world system at Armageddon is imminent, and the establishment of God’s kingdom over earth is the only solution to all of humanity’s problems.

They do not observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays, or other holidays and customs they consider to have pagan origins incompatible with Christianity.

They prefer to use their own Bible translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

The denomination is directed by a group known as the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which establishes all doctrines.

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