“But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”—Gen. 9:4

This and other similar texts of Scripture have been used by some in an effort to prove that donating blood to save another’s life, or receiving a transfusion of blood, is forbidden by God and a sin so gross as to result in eternal death. Are we justified in placing such an interpretation upon the divine injunction against eating or drinking the blood of lower animals?

The science of transferring blood from one human being to another in order to save life was not known in ancient times. Obviously, then, there is no direct reference to it in the Word of God; so our conclusions as to whether or not it can properly be placed in the same category, from God’s standpoint, as the assimilation of the blood of beasts through the digestive organs must be based wholly upon the principles involved rather than direct statements of the Bible.

What common factors are involved in drinking the blood of lower animals and the medical science of blood transfusion? So far as we are able to see, there is only one, which is the word blood. Apart from this, the two practices have nothing whatsoever in common.

God forbade his ancient people to drink the blood of lower animals. It is human blood that is used in the science of blood transfusion.

Drinking the blood of lower animals necessitates their death. Blood transfusions do not require the death of those who donate their blood.

The life-sustaining vitamins derived from drinking blood reach the system through the digestive organs, the remaining elements being eliminated from the body as waste; thus the blood, as such, is destroyed. In transfusions the blood of the donor is channeled directly into the bloodstream of the patient.

Thus we see that there is no similarity at all between the ancient custom of drinking blood, which was forbidden by the Lord, and the modern science of blood transfusion. Therefore, only by being definitely misapplied can the Scriptures be construed to forbid deriving benefit from this very humane application of medical science. No one should permit such a flagrant misapplication of God’s commands to deter him from receiving the benefits of blood transfusion through fear of disobeying God and of being sentenced to the “second death.”