Jehovah's Witnesses and human tissue donation.

Because of their religious beliefs members of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect do not permit human tissue donation, not even such a routine and life-saving procedure as blood transfusion. A group of 30 adult Jehovah's Witnesses was compared with groups of donors and nondonors on a variety of personality measures. Donor status is associated with a well-integrated body image and acceptance of mortality, while nondonor status correlates with a less-well-integrated body image, concern about body integrity, and anxiety about death. However, while Jehovah's Witnesses vigorously oppose human tissue donation they appear to do so on strong religious grounds rather than because of personal anxiety and thus are dissimilar to non-donors at large.