"Jehovah God told our common ancestor, Noah, that blood should be handled in a special way.—Genesis 9:3,4. Later, God's law given to Israel emphasized the sanctity of blood: "If any man be of the house of Israel, or of a stranger . . . if he eats any blood, then I will turn My face on the soul of him who eats blood." An Israelite who broke God's law could be a bad example to others, so God continues, "I will cut her [soul] from among her people" (Leviticus 17:10). Later, the apostles and older men gathered in Jerusalem decreed that we should "abstain from ... from blood." This was as important as abstaining from idolatry and sexual immorality.—Acts 15:28, 29. How did Christians who lived at that time understand the word "abstain"? They did not eat any blood, either fresh or coagulated; nor did they eat the flesh of an animal from whose body the blood had not drained. They also did not eat food that contained blood, such as blood sausage. The use of blood in any of these ways was considered a violation of God's law.—1 Samuel 14:32, 33. … Today, few people would think that someone's loyalty to the Most High God is tested when he is prescribed a blood transfusion. Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses want to live, but at the same time, they strive to fulfill God's law on blood." [5]

"In making a decision, a Christian should not rely solely on personal preference or the advice of doctors, but should seriously consider what the Bible says about it. This question affects his relationship with Jehovah. Jehovah, to whom we owe our lives, commanded humans not to take blood into their bodies.—Genesis 9:3,4. God's law, given to ancient Israel, limited the use of blood because it represents life. God declared, "The soul [or life] of the body is in the blood, and I have appointed it for you for the altar to make atonement for your souls." And what if a person killed an animal for food? God said that in such a case, a person "must let blood flow out... and cover it with earth" (Leviticus 17:11,13). Jehovah repeated this commandment over and over again.—Deuteronomy 12:16, 24; 15, 23. … With the death of the Messiah, there was no need to observe the Mosaic Law. However, God still considers blood to be sacred. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the apostles instructed Christians to "abstain from blood." And this instruction should not be taken lightly. Abstaining from blood is as morally important as abstaining from sexual immorality and idolatry (Acts 15:28,29; 21:25)." [6]

"Many people argue that transfusion is not the use of blood for food. Is this true? A patient in the hospital may be fed through the mouth, through the nose, or through the veins. When sugar (glucose) solutions are given intravenously, it is called intravenous nutrition. So the hospital's own terminology recognizes as nutrition the process of putting nutrients into the body through the veins. Consequently, the physician who administers the blood transfusion feeds the patient with blood through the veins, and the patient who receives it eats through his veins. In the end, the clever inventive reasoning and ambiguities end, and the bare fact remains that a particular amount of one creature's blood was intentionally ingested into another's body. This is what God forbids, regardless of the method of acceptance." [24]

"Of course, when the Bible was written, there was no known blood transfusion or any other medical method of using it. However, God took care of instructions to enable His servants to ascertain whether any medical methods involving the use of blood might be causing His displeasure. According to God's firm definition, blood symbolizes life and is therefore sacred. He commanded that no man should take blood into himself to prolong his life. He decreed, for example: "Everything that moves, that lives, shall be your food... Only flesh with its life, with its blood, you shall not eat." —Genesis 9:3, 4; Leviticus 7:26, 27. The life-giver permitted the use of blood exclusively for sacrifices: "For the life of the body is in the blood, and I have appointed it for you for the altar to make atonement for your souls, for this blood cleanses the soul. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, 'Not one of you shall eat blood.'" —Leviticus 17:11, 12." [3]

In the book "You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth", published by OSB, we read:

"Another common habit in different parts of the world is eating blood. People eat the meat of animals whose blood has not drained properly, and the blood that is released is used for food. But God's Word forbids eating blood (Genesis 9:3,4; Leviticus 17:10). What about blood transfusions then? Some people may argue that blood transfusions are not really "food." But isn't it true that a patient who is unable to take food by mouth is advised by the doctor to be fed in the same way as a blood transfusion? The Bible tells us to "abstain from ... blood." —Acts 15:20, 29. What does that mean? Suppose your doctor were to advise you to abstain from alcohol, would that mean that you should not only take it by mouth, but that you could pour it into a vein? Of course not. Therefore, "abstaining from blood" means not taking it into one's body at all." [62]

In the brochure "How Can Blood Save Your Life?" an entire paragraph "And Blood as Medicine?" is devoted to substantiating the idea that eating blood and transfusion are one and the same. In particular, it says:

"Thomas Bartholin (1616-1680) objected: "Those who try to introduce human blood as an internal remedy for diseases are in fact abusing it and sinning grievously. We condemn cannibals. Why don't we abhor those who stain their esophagus with human blood? The same applies to taking someone else's blood from a cut vein, whether through the mouth or through transfusion devices. The inventors of this operation should be afraid of God's law, which forbids the eating of blood." …

Thus, in past centuries, thinking people realized that Bible law applies to taking blood through both the mouth and the veins. Bartholin concluded, "Each of these modes of use [of blood] serves the same purpose, that by means of blood the sick organism may be nourished and restored."61

What happens in the excerpts from the OSB publications that we quote?

Anonymous authors are trying in every possible way

* to identify the concepts of "food with blood", "blood nutrition" and "blood transfusion",

• replace these concepts in the reader's mind with more general ones, such as "maintaining life with blood", "drinking blood", "taking blood into the body" and so on,

* to show that the concept of "abstinence from blood" refers to the concepts of "maintaining life with blood", "drinking blood", "taking blood into the body"