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The First Blood Transfusion
Lower transfused blood between two dogs. This transfusion was very successful and there were many transfusions performed afterwards between dogs -
The First Blood Transfusion into a Human
Antoine Murray performed the first blood transfusion. He transfused the blood of a calf into a madman, because it was thought to infuse gentle characteristics into the man. The man went into shock but survived. -
First Human to Human Transfusion
The patient died from rejection/shock. -
The End of Bloodletting
Bloodletting was medically practiced for thousands of years. People began to take notes on the patients that were admitted and they realized that bloodletting was causing way more deaths than actually saving lives. With the typhus outbreak of 1830 and the bookkeeping of patients, bloodletting was phased out. -
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Transfusions gained Popularity
Although transfusion were regarded as a very high-tech procedure, scientists began to truly investigate transfusion between person to person. They were dismissed after the late 1668 due to concerns of that there is not enough blood and the preference of bloodletting. -
International Red Cross Founded
The Red Cross was founded in Geneva Switzerland as a way to mamas volunteers to care for people in times of great suffering or war. It was founded by Henry Dunant after the Battle of Solferino. The British Chapter was founded in 1905 and the United States chapter was founded in 1881. -
The Discovery of Blood Types
Landsteiner discovered that there were different blood types and doctors were learning to sterilize their instruments. However, blood typing was not yet incorporated into blood typing and it was very had to find donors. Donors were either immediate family or paid donors. -
Invention of Anastomosis
Carrell invented the technique of anastomoses. Anastomoses is the technique that involves suturing together blood vessels. This is relevant to blood transfusion because it allows human transfusion by suturing together two blood vessels between humans. In 1906, Carell connected the blood vessel of a baby with the father and blood was able to flow, saving the baby's life. -
Invention of the Multiple Syringe-Method
Dr. Lester J. Unger invented the multiple syringe method for transfusion. Doctors were trying to create methods of transfusion that did not expose the blood to air because it would clot quickly. This method employed a stopcock between syringes and differences in pressure to get the blood to flow from donor to patient. -
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World War I
World War One allowed transfusions to really take off because people were able to see the life-saving effects. The type of transfusion that occurred were on-the-hoof donations, which mean that they were taken from the donor and directly infused into the patient without storing them beforehand -
Discovery of Sodium Nitrate Preventing Clotting
Lewisohn discovered that by mixing minimal amounts of sodium nitrate in the blood it prevents clotting and is not toxic. This information was used in the first world war. -
Blood Typing Incorporated in Transfusions
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Blood Banks Established Internationally
Following Percy Oliver's lead, blood banks in his style were established all over the world, not just in Britain. -
First Blood Bank
Percy Oliver founded the first blood bank. It was called the Greater London Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. he ran this out of his home with his wife by taking calls and finding a donor that was nearest to the emergency. What he did was create an inventory of donors that could be ready to donate at a moments notice to give blood. They needed a physical exam, blood typing, and a syphilis test to participate. It was very successful for the time. -
Blood as Evidence
In the late 1920s, blood became usable as evidence in court. This wasn't very specific but knowing that people had different blood types and that they can be inherited and tested for allowed blood types to be use din a court of law for crimes and as a paternity test -
Establishment of the Blood Betterment Association (BTBA)
This associated was established in the United States as the United States worked to commercialize the blood banking system. They wanted a way to expand their donor pool but also make sure that the blood donated was safe. The association came up with a lot of rules and policies for the donors to follow and produced viable results because they partnered with Landsteiner and hired medical directors. -
Transfusion with a Cadaver
In Russia, the first transfusion from a freshly dead cadaver into a life human was performed. IT was successful and continued for a few years, however the stigma always followed doctors who performed the . People preferred using donors and began to transition to that in the future. -
Plasma Discovered
John Elliott brought for the idea of using plasma as a substitute for whole blood because it could be stored for longer and didn't need to be typed. -
First Official Blood Bank
He established the first official blood bank in the US. The difference between his bank and Percy Oliver's was that he build a laboratory to house blood after it was collected form the donors while Oliver simply created a directory of donors. He also coined the term. -
Janet Vaughn Blood Depot
This occurred during World War II. Janet had been stockpiling blood for the war since before it had started, collecting form donors and putting it in milk bottles. Once the war started, she and many other females loaded up vans with blood and drove the blood to the hospital nearest the emergency. They were so efficient sometimes they arrived to the hospital faster than the victim they were giving the transfusion to. -
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World War II
Just like World War I, World War II was a great time for transfusion. This time they focused on blood transfusion from blood that had previously been collected. The Allies had a massive advantage when it came to blood transfusions because they had more technology and research. The Axis powers focused more on blood transfusions directly from the donor. Germany only allowed blood donations from Aryans and discouraged Jews from becoming doctors which hurt them massively. -
Plasma for Britain was Founded
This organization was a one-stop shop for transfusion. It relied on the Red Cross for donors and shipping and the Blood Betterment Association for collection and processing. -
Albumin Discovery
In 1940, people began to powder both plasma and albumin (which is the major globular protein in the blood). This was good because it could be stored much longer however it required a lot of blood to create a small amount. -
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Blood Donation Popularized
In the times of World War II and slightly after, blood donation was regarded as an honorable thing to do. Many people donated blood because it felt like they were doing their part in helping their country. There was a community created of long-time loyal donors and it created a social bond between citizens. -
Use of Cow Albumin
For a year, cow albumin began to be used because people were afraid that there would be a shortage of human albumin. It seemed to work however it was stopped in 1942 because of a death related to the transfusion -
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Post-War Blood Donations
The blood donation market suffered greatly after the war. People no longer had a motivation to donate. Additionally other factors such as racism were still rampant and showing themselves more prominently. Blood was still segregated between black and white and donations were labeled, even if it was not required. -
Blood Bag Invented
This blood bag revolutionized the transfusion game because it kept the blood sterile and safe. It was much better than the glass bottles they had been using beforehand. It was invented by William Murphy. -
Segregation not Required by Red Cross
The Red Cross stopped requiring donations to be labelled black or white depending on who they came from. This was nationally. However, it was not until the 70s when all individual states had overturned their individual legislations surrounding the segregation of blood based on race. -
Invention of Plasmapheresis
The invention of this led to the boom of both the blood and the plasma industry although it did not take off until the 60s and 70s. During this period, blood collection was not very regulated and there was no central entity. This made it easy for people to take advantage of the system. Plasma could be collected up to twice a week and it becomes easily contaminated with hepatitis due to large donor pools -
For-Profit Blood Bank in Japan
While most blood banks were donation based, both blood banks in Japan and in the US were for profit. This means that they were paying their donors to come forward and donate blood. Although there for-profit centers were very successful in that they attracted a bad crowd. These people were often poor, malnourished, or had diseases. -
National Blood Clearinghouse Established
This was a centralized system so hospitals could buy and sell blood between themselves. This was created by the AABB. Around these times there was a lot of tension between the Red Cross and the AABB. The AABB was backed by local blood banks and led by physicians, while the Red Cross wanted to make the community responsible for replacing the used blood and had administrators in charge. -
First case of HIV
The first case of HIV was said to have occurred in 1959 in the Democratic Republic of the the Congo . -
Whole Plasma Use Revoked because of Hepatitis
Hepatitis was so prominent in plasma and was infecting so many plasma recipients that it had to be revoked. In the 70s, a scandal broke to the public of the nature of the plasma donors (who were poor, diseased, and very often criminals in prison). The U.S. capitalistic system was flawed. -
Discovery of FactorVIII
This was discovered in the supernatant of the plasma after thawing. This was then isolated and given to hemophilia patients as a substitute to whole plasma. This can be self-injected and allows hemophiliacs to live separate from the hospital. It was discovered by Judith Graham Pool. This was concentrate and a few years cryoprecipitate was discovered. -
Bass vs Community Blood Center of Kansas
There were many court cases like this. People were questioning what blood was. In this case, it was decided that blood was a drug, so it could be treated like any other commodity in the market. Transfusion was not a service. It was subject to the same monopoly laws as any other commodity. This meant that the Red Cross could not just force the local banks to give themselves over because it would be monopoly-like behavior -
Red Cross Pulls out of National Clearinghouse
After escalated tension between the AABB and the Red Cross, the Red Cross pulled out of the Clearinghouse. People who had been accumulating credits or had expecting to use their credits to be able to receive or donate blood and the future suddenly found everything wiped clean. It was a huge upset. -
Casa De Vampiros (Nicaragua)
This was a blood bank in Nicaragua that collected plasma and sold it to the US. The lines were so long and sometimes people would donate and then just get back at the end of the line. A reported wrote and expose and was then murdered. The death was blamed on Somoza, the dictator at the time. The owner, Ramos, fled the country and shortly after the dictatorship collapsed. Blood is closely tied to politics. -
Paid Blood Disappears
They had to label blood as paid or volunteer. Almost overnight, paid blood disappeared because no hospitals wanted to buy it. Volunteer blood suddenly becomes the only one on the market. -
First Registered Case of HIV in the US
Ken Horne contracted HIV and died from it. This was the first recorded case of HIV in the US, also several years later it was discoed that there was HIV in the US as early as 1968. -
First HIV/AIDs case from a Transfusion
A baby from California was infected from a transfusion. Although they're the first, many more were to come, specifically hemophiliacs, who had to inject clotting factor often. -
Heat Treatment of Plasma
It becomes widely-known that heat-treated plasma kills both HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. Although this is known and newly donated plasma is heat treated, old plasma still circulates and is sold. People also continue to use their old Factor, which could be infected. Although a solution has been found, it is many years before all contaminated plasma is cycled out. -
HIV Test approved by FDA
Since HIV/AIDS was discovered, people were trying to find a way to test for it so that they could exclude infected donors form donations. While people attempted to use the hepatitis B test because there was correlation or trying to eliminate high-risk groups (homosexuals, drug-users, Haitians) it was met with a lot of backlash. Blood donation dropped dramatically as people became afraid of contracting the disease and it was no longer an honorable action. The test was based on an ELISA. -
Western Blot HIV Test
This test was discovered and is more precise than the ELISA. While the ELISA was fairly effective it was not able to test for the initial window of infection and would not pick up on the antibodies for the first three weeks. This Western blot was more expensive but more effective. -
p24 antigen test
This is a test that allows you to test for very early HIV infection. It improves quality of life dramatically if you can catch the infection early. It is also now used to test donated blood. -
West Nile is Transfusion Transmissible
It is discovered that West Nile can be transmitted through transfusion. -
West Nile Test is Discovered