Blood Transfusions

Biblical Unitarians do not prohibit blood transfusions. The biblical passages about abstaining from blood (Leviticus 17, Acts 15) are not interpreted as establishing restrictions on the medical use of blood for transfusion purposes. The context of these passages — addressing the consumption of blood as food and its connection to pagan sacrifice — is understood as distinct from modern medical procedures.

Unlike Jehovah's Witnesses, whose non-Trinitarian theology shares some features with Biblical Unitarianism but who strictly prohibit blood transfusions, Biblical Unitarians do not extend the biblical blood prohibitions to medical transfusions. This is one of the practical differences between the two movements, reflecting different hermeneutical approaches to the blood texts.

Biblical Unitarian communities have not issued statements restricting blood transfusions, and members are free to accept whatever medical care is appropriate for their situation. The movement's strong emphasis on Scripture alone actually argues against the Jehovah's Witnesses' application of the blood texts to transfusions, as Biblical Unitarians regard that application as going beyond what the texts themselves teach.