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2500 BCE
Egyptian Blood Letting
It was believed to rid the body of impure fluids to cure a host of conditions -
500 BCE
Greeks Distinguished between arties and veins
Galen proposed that veins contain blood, whereas arteries contain blood imbued with vital spirits -
Anton viewed blood cells under a microscope
first scientist ever to give a detailed description of red blood cells -
First Blood Transfusion
1795 In Philadelphia, American physician Philip Syng Physick, performs the first human blood transfusion, although he does not publish this information. 1818 James Blundell, a British obstetrician, performs the first successful transfusion of human blood to a patient for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. -
Three Blood types discovered
He explained in 1901 that people have different types of red blood cells, that is, there are different blood groups. The discovery led to safe blood transfusions between people with compatible blood groups. -
Fourth blood type discovered
discovered the fourth blood group, AB, further elucidating the differences in compatibility among blood types -
First blood donor service is established
founding the first volunteer blood donation service. A layman, Oliver was working for the Camberwell division of the Red Cross in 1921 when he responded to a call from a local hospital requesting an urgent blood donation. -
Storing Blood First Appears
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is the first to begin storing citrated blood and utilizing it for transfusions within a hospital setting in the U.S. -
First Blood Bank Established
Blood preservation was nothing new at the time; blood had been shipped to the front lines in World War I and the Mayo Clinic started storing blood for up to fourteen days in 1935 -
RH protein is discovered
The Rh blood group system was discovered in 1940 by Karl Landsteiner and A.S. Weiner. Since that time a number of distinct Rh antigens have been identified, but the first and most common one, called RhD, causes the most severe immune reaction and is the primary determinant of the Rh trait. -
AIDS and HIV is discovered
David Ho and colleagues from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York told a conference they traced the very first case of HIV infection to a man living in what was then the Belgian Congo in 1959. The scientists found HIV in a blood sample taken from the man, who was a member of the Bantu tribe -
HIV Testing
It was the result of nine months of round-the-clock labor by dozens of scientists. Immediately adopted by the American Red Cross and other institutions, the blood test marked the beginning of a new era in HIV medicine. -
Developed blood screening test
Two tests that screen for indirect evidence of hepatitis are developed and implemented, hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) and the alanine aminotransferase test (ALT).
