Ask the Coordinator:
Is a Minor Blood Fraction a Small Amount of Blood?
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept transfusions of whole blood or it’s primary components of red cells, white cells, platelets or plasma.
There are products derived from blood which Jehovah's Witnesses may choose to accept. Jehovah’s Witnesses commonly call these 'Minor Blood Fractions'. Just a few potential uses of blood fractions include injections to prevent infection, a buffering ingredient in a medication, or as part of a surgical sealant. Many persons would see these uses as rather different from a blood transfusion.
Some have misunderstood 'minor blood fraction' to mean a small quantity of whole blood. As such they have refused to consider minor blood fractions reasoning that they will not accept a blood transfusion whether it is large or small in volume. Further, they cannot understand how it is that any person who will not accept a blood transfusion could even consider accepting a minor blood fraction. In this they may not really understanding the intent of the term, 'minor blood fraction.'
To clarify this, some have used the analogy of a pie to try to express what a minor blood fraction is. In this analogy, a minor blood fraction would not be akin to a small piece of the pie. Rather a minor blood fraction is like a small ingredient that went into the making of the pie.
So, a minor blood fraction is not a small amount of whole blood. A minor blood fraction is a product derived from one of blood’s primary components. Whatever your individual decision, it is helpful to understand the intent of the term, 'minor blood fraction.'
