The summary is as follows: 1. The first documented blood transfusion was performed in 1667 by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, who transfused blood from a sheep into a 15-year-old boy. 2. Karl Landsteiner discovered the three main blood groups (A, B, and O) in 1900, laying the foundation for safe transfusion by matching donor and recipient blood. 3. The development of plastic blood bags and blood component separation in the 1950s allowed for longer storage and more targeted transfusion of specific blood products.

1. A Brief History of
Blood Transfusion
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2. Pope Innocent VIII
• in 1492, Pope Innocent VIII sank
into a coma, the blood of three boys
was infused through the mouth, as
the concept of circulation and
methods for intravenous access did
not exist at that time) at the
suggestion of a physician.
• The boys were ten years old,
However, not only did the pope die,
but so did the three children.

3. William Harvey (1578 – 1657)
1616: William Harvey
a British physician, discovered
that blood circulates throughout
the body.

4. -
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5. Jan Swammerdam 1658
1658
Amsterdam-Holland
Microscopist Jan
Swammerdam was
the first to observe
and describe red
blood cells.

6. Richard Lower (1631-1691)-England
• Richard Lower is credited
with performing, in 1665, the
first animal to animal blood
transfusion .

7. Animal to Human Transfusion
• The first fully documented human blood transfusion was
administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, eminent
physician to King Louis XIV of France, on June 15,
1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-year
old boy, who survived the transfusion.
•

8. Animal to Human Transfusion
First lamb to human transfusion

9. Within 10 years,
transfusing the blood of animals to
humans was prohibited by law
because of severe reactions

10. James Blundell
In 1818, British obstetrician
James Blundell attempted
human-to human transfusion
from husband to his wife
suffering from postpartum
haemorrhage.

11. Blundell’s transfusion devices
It included the impellor (A), which consisted of a cup, tube, and
syringe; and the gravitator (B), consisting of a receptacle held high
above the patient with an attached tube through which the blood
was injected into the patient.

12. Use of milk and saline
• 1873-1880: US physicians transfused
milk (from cows, goats, and humans).
• 1884 : Saline infusion replaces milk as a
“blood substitute” due to the increased
frequency of adverse reactions to milk.

13. Karl Landsteiner
Won the 1930 Nobel Prize for Medicine
Landsteiner June 14, 1868
In 1900, He showed that serum from some individuals
could agglutinate the red blood cells of certain, but
not all, other individuals. The serum of the latter
would likewise agglutinate the red blood cells of the
former. Still other individuals’ red cells were
unaffected by the serum from either of these.
He named these three different types A, B, and C.
( type C was later renamed type O)
1939 -1940: he discovered together with other scientists
the Rh system

14. Before anti-coagulation
Blundell had observed the need for rapid transfusion in order to prevent
coagulation. Direct transfusion (artery to vein for speed) was advocated.

15. Anti - coagulation
• An early development leading to the
establishment of blood banks occurred in
1915, when Richard Lewison of Mount
Sinai Hospital, New York initiated the use
of sodium citrate as an anticoagulant.
This discovery transformed the blood
transfusion procedure from direct (vein-to-
vein) to indirect procedure.

16. Lewisohn’s Method of Transfusion
Blood is collected in a citrated flask,
and then immediately transfused

17. Blood stored in glass bottles
• Before the manufacture of plastic blood
bags in 1953, blood was collected in glass
bottles which was refrigerated and reused
after cleaning. Only whole blood was
transfused.
• Pyrogenic reactions from contamination
due to incomplete cleaning were frequent.
Air embolism was a common complication
due to the vacuum systems used on glass
bottles.

18. Plastic Blood Bags
and Component Separation
• Blood was collected into reusable
glass bottles before 1953.
• 1953 : Plastic Blood Bag Invented
by the Fenwal company
• Plastic bags were disposable and,
because of their flexibility, facilitated
the separation of blood components
and the advent of component
therapy.
• At least 17 different components
are available through a blood bank.

20. Preservation
1943 : Acid Citrate Dextrose (ACD ): preservative allowed for blood to be
stored for up to 3 weeks.
1957: citrate-phosphate- dextrose (CPD): store blood for 3 weeks with
better red cell survival.
In the 1960s : Cryoprotective agents, such as glycerol, enabling freezing of
blood for long-term storage.
1979: Anticoagulant CPDA1 extends shelf life of red cells to 35 days
1983: Additive solutions extends shelf life of red cells to 42 days
Effective preservation and refrigeration lead to the ability
to bank blood.

21. Aphaeresis
• 1964 : Plasmaphaeresis is introduced as a
means of collecting plasma for fractionation.
• 1972 : Aphaeresis was used to extract one
cellular component, returning the rest of the
Blood to the donor.

22. First Blood Banks
1932: the first facility, fully functioning as what would
come to be known as a "Blood bank," was established
in a Leningrad Russia hospital.
March 15,1937: Bernard Fantus, at Chicago’s Cook
County Hospital, established the first blood bank in the
United States.
The first blood bank in Libya???

23. Donated Blood Testing
1940: Serological test for syphilis ( VDRL ).
1971: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) testing of donated blood
began in USA.
1985: first test to detect HIV-1 antibody in donated blood.
1987: Anti- HBc (antibody to hepatitis B core antigen).
1989 : In the United States, human T lymphotropic virus I antibody
(anti-HTLV-I) testing of donated Blood began.
1990 : Introduction of first specific test for HCV antibody.
1992 : test for HIV-2 antibody was added.
1996 : Testing of donated Blood for the HIV p24 antigen began in USA.
it shortens the window period.

24. NAT Testing
• 1999 : Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAT) :
It employs a testing technology that directly detects
the genetic materials of viruses like HCV ,HIV and
hepatitis B virus.
• NAT has decreased the risk of infection, but did not
eradicate this risk completely.

25. Blood substitutes
• Till now, there are no available oxygen-carrying blood
substitutes, which is the typical objective of a blood (RBC)
transfusion; however, there are widely available non-blood
volume expanders for cases where only volume
restoration is required.
• A number of blood substitutes have been tried (and still
are), but thus far they all suffer from many challenges.