Translation by Jette Svane and Poul Dahl (Kr.Frihed@post5.tele.dk)

NEWSCHANNEL DR 1 , TUESDAY . JUNE 6, 21.00 HOUR 2000

(Speaker Sten Bostrup):
"Jehovah's Witnesses are now permitting their members to receive blood during operations and the doctors estimate that it will save human lives."

(Female speaker):
"As late as in 1996 a 24 year old woman died because she refused to receive a blood tranfusion during a delivery. The woman was one of Jehovah´s Witnesses and according to her belief, she was not allowed to receive any blood. A similar situation can be avoided in the future. Now, it is possible to derive fractions from blood and Jehovah`s Witnesses will now let it be up the each individual witness to decide whether they will receive tranfusions with this
or not. Consultant physician Henning Sorensen believes that it is going to save human lives."

(Consultant physician Henning Sørensen):
"People have died because they were not allowed to receive blood transfusions. Some have died because of haemorraging and similar cases will probably be prevented with the aid of these substances. Yes, it will be possible to save human lives."

(Female speaker):
"According to the Bible Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to receive blood from another person, but a new product derived from the hemoglobin from the red blood cells has been accepted by the religious community anyway. The red blood cells are important because they are aiding the oxygen to circulate inside the body and now it is also up to each individual Jehovah´s Witness to decide if they will receive treatment with this product. Jehovah´s Witnesses do not wish to decide whether it is real blood or not."

(TOMMY JENSEN, WATCHTOWER SOCIETY, HOLBÆK):
"AS A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY , JEHOVAH`S WITNESSES DO NOT DECIDE ON THE MATTER WHETHER HEMOGLOBIN WHICH IS DERIVED FROM THE RED BLOOD CELLS AND IF IT IS BLOOD IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE AND THEREFORE INCLUDED IN THE BIBLICAL COMMANDMENT, BUT IT IS A QUESTION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TO DECIDE."

(Female speaker):
"Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider it to be bending any of the Biblical rules, when the members are now allowed to decide for themselves whether they
will receive treatment with this new product or not."

(TOMMY JENSEN, WATCHTOWER SOCIETY, HOLBÆK):
"YES, IT IS DERIVED FROM BLOOD AND BLOOD CONSISTS OF SO MANY THINGS - WATER, SALTS AND MINERALS ETC. ; AND WHEN WE ARE MAKING FRACTIONS OUT OF IT OR SEPARATING IT DOWN TO VERY SMALL ELEMENTS, SO BIT BY BIT , IT IS NOT BLOOD ANYMORE, AND WE CANNOT AS A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY DECIDE WHETHER IT IS BLOOD OR NOT."

(Consultant physician Henning Sørensen):
"It is splitting hairs, BUT IT IS HEMOGLOBIN AND IT IS A PART OF THE BLOOD, and it originates from blood when it is taken out, SO IT IS BLOOD; and this is the manner in which we detect blood by detecting the hemoglobin."

(Speaker Sten Bostrup):
There are about 15,000 Jehovah's witnesses in Denmark."