Blood cells

The History of Blood

  • 166

    First Recorded Blood Transfusion

    Richard Lower performs the first recorded blood transfusion in animals. He connects one vein of a dog to a vein to another dog.
  • Jun 20, 1200

    The discovery of Pulmonary Circulation

    Eminent Cairo, a physician and author, discovers pulmonary circulation (the circulation of blood from the lungs to the body).
  • The First Drawings of Vein Valves

    The First Drawings of Vein Valves
    An anotomist from Padau (Fabricious) publishes a book with the first illustratoins of vein valves.
  • William Harvey's Great Work (Book)

    William Harvey (a physcianist) publishes his great work which is produced by his accumulative knowledge from his research. This work exlpains that the heart pumps blood, which is then circulated throughout the body.
  • First Person to observe and describe blood cells

    Jan Swammerdam, a microscopist, is considered to be the first person to observe and describe blood cells.
  • Observing the Capillary System

    Anatomist, Marcello Malpighi, observes the capillary system, the network of vessels that connect the arteries and the veins.
  • Transfution of a Teenage Boy

    French physician, Jean-Baptiste Denis, transfuses a teenage boy by attaching a lamb's artery to a vein in the boy's arm.
  • First Human-to-Human Blood Transfusion

    Philip Syng Physick, a pyhysician, performs the first human-to-human blood transfusion.
  • The first Discovery of Platelets

    The first Discovery of Platelets
    Sir William Osler notices that small cell fragments from the bone marrow make up the bulk of clots formed in blood vessels; these fragments are now known as platelets
  • The Discovery of the Blood Types

    Karl Landsteiner, a physicist, publishes his understanding of the three main human blood groups (A, B, and C, which later becomes O).
  • The Fourth Blood Group

    Dr. Landsteiner's colleagues identify a fourth blood group (AB) that causes clumping in the red cells of both groups "A" and "B."
  • Sodium Citrate Prevents Clotting

    Researchers Albert Hustin and Luis Agote discover that adding sodium citrate to blood will prevent clotting. Dr. Hustin publishes his findings in April.
  • Sodium Citrate prevents blood curdling

    Dr. Richard Lewisohn, formulates the optimum concentration of sodium citrate that can be mixed with donor blood to prevent curdling but poses no danger to the recipient.
  • Blood can be stored

    At the Rockefeller Institute, Francis Peyton Rous and J.R. Turner develop a citrate-glucose solution that allows blood to be stored for a few weeks and still be able to be used for transfusion.
  • Establishing the first bloos depot

    Dr. Oswald Robertson, collects and stores type O blood, with citrate-glucose for casualties in World War I. He establishes the first blood depot.
  • Organized Donor Service

    Percy Lane Oliver begins a blood donor service out of his home in London. He organizes his information so that the donnors can be contacted immediately when needed.
  • Successful Blood Transfusion

    (The Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow) Dr. Serge Yudin is the first to test transfusing humans with cadaver blood. He successfully saves a young man with blood from a 60-year-old man. The Soviets are the first to establish a network of facilities to collect and store blood for use in transfusions at hospitals.
  • Blood Service are now Transportable

    Federico Duran-Jorda (physician) establishes the Barcelona Blood-Transfusion Service. This service collects, tests, organizes, stores, and even transports blood to be ready for hospitals during the Spanish Civil War.
  • The Idea od Blood Banks is Solidifying

    Dr. Bernard Fantus introduces the term "blood bank" to describe the donation, collection, and preservation of blood.
  • DIscovery of Uneeded Antibodies in Fetus

    Drs. Philip Levine and R.E. Stetson discover an unknown antibody in the blood of a woman who has given birth to a stillborn. The doctors realize that Father's genetics can cause an uneeded production of an anti-body in the fetus.
  • A Way to Seperate Plasma is Created

    Edwin Cohn (biochemist) creates a way to separate out plasma's different proteins. By heating, cooling and mixing plasma with ethyl alcohol, they are able to isolate plasma.
  • Increasing Blood Volume

    Dr. Isidor Ravdin (surgeon) successfully treats victims of the Pearl Harbor attack with albumin; they are able to increase blood volume.
  • Understanding Transfusion-transmitted hepatitis

    Dr. Paul Beeson, in his report, links the occurrence of jaundice (a yellowish coloring of the skin) to blood/plasma transfusions the patients received earlier; this gives example of tranfusion-transmitted hepatitis.
  • The American Association of Blood Banks

    The American Association of Blood Banks
    Independant blood banks across America join together and from the American Association of Blood Banks.
  • Plastic Bags are Used for Storing Blood

    Dr. Carl W. Walter (surgeon) develops an effective plastic bag for the collection of blood which replaces the use of glass bottles. This replacement is more durable and sanitary.
  • Understanding Hemoglobin

    Through the use of X-ray crystallography, Dr. Max Perutz is able to understand the structure of hemoglobin (the protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen).
  • A Solution for Hemophiliacs

    Dr. Judith Pool (physiologist) discovers that slowly thawed frozen plasma yields deposits high in Factor VIII (a factor that gives gives plasma a greater power to clog and make the patient stop bleeding). Hemophiliacs no longer have to travel to the hospital to be treated since it can be frozen and kept at thier home.
  • An Even More Powerful Form of Plasma

    Drs. Kenneth M. Brinkhous produces a highly concentrated form of Factor VIII. The result is 100 times stronger than raw plasma, and can be easily stored and injected into patients.
  • Identifying Hepatitis B

    Dr. Baruch Blumberg identifies a substance on the surface of the hepatitis B virus that triggers the production of antibodies. His work allows doctors to identify hepatitis B in patients.
  • First Case of Aids

    The first cases of a syndrome called GRID (Gay-related Immunodeficiency Disease) are reported. This later becomes known as AIDS.
  • GRID (AIDS) Might be Blood Borne

    When hemophiliacs also begin to develop GRID, Dr. Bruce Evatt, begins to believe that the syndrome might be blood borne and presents this idea to a group of the U.S. Public Health Service in July.
  • Identifying Virus Causing Virus

    Researchers at Dr. Luc Montagnier's lab isolate the virus that causes AIDS.
  • HTLV III Known to cause AIDS

    Dr. Robert Gallo announces that he's identified the virus that causes AIDS, (HTLV III: human T-cell lymphotropic virus), at a press conference on April 23.
  • First Blood Screening Test

    After several Americans are infected with AIDS from blood transfusions, the first blood-screening test to detect the presence or absence of HIV antibodies.
  • Seeing Infectious Diseases Easier

    Better tests are developed and implemented to screen donated blood for infectious diseases.