see also Tell Me More at the bottom of this page

As a group, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse allogeneic blood transfusion and do not donate blood for use by themselves or others. They accept neither whole blood nor its primary components (red cells, white cells, platelets, plasma).

Individual Jehovah's Witnesses make personal choices about accepting blood fractions such as hormones, clotting factors, interferons, wound healing factors. They also decide personally whether they will accept haemodilution, cell salvage and tagging.

Each individual patient should be treated according to their personal wishes, assessed during pre-operative planning.

Local Hospital Liaison Committees (HLCs) are available to assist Jehovah's Witnesses and treating teams.

The Leicester HLC can be contacted at 0116 270 3047 (Chairman's telephone number)

To find Hospital Liaison Committee telephone numbers elsewhere, call 020 8371 3415.