Faithfulness​—Not Martyrdom

From time to time one sees a newspaper article relating a case involving one of Jehovah’s witnesses who objects to a blood transfusion even though doctors say that his or her life is in danger. Some might wonder whether the Witnesses are doing this because they desire to be martyrs, with acclaim from others.

The American Journal of Surgery (Volume 116, July 1968) commented in this regard: “The Jehovah’s Witnesses as individuals are apt to prove more reasonable than their public image projects them to be. They defy being pressured because force is reprehensible to them. Sainthood is not one of their ambitions, however, and their resistance to transfusion is not motivated by a desire for self sacrifice.”

No, the Witnesses are not seeking to be martyrs. Rather, they conscientiously refuse blood transfusions, though being willing to accept other forms of medical treatment, because the Bible itself says that Christians must abstain from blood.​—Acts 15:19, 20, 29.