History of Blood

Egypt

2500 BCE

Egyptians used bloodletting to try to cure diseases

Greece

500 BCE

Greeks distinguished between arteries and veins

Leeuwenhoek

1659

Anton van Leeuwenhoek viewed blood cells under a microscope

Transfusion

1795

First blood transfusion performed

Landsteiner

1901

Karl Landsteiner discovered three blood types: A, B, O

Decastello

1902

Alfred Decastello discovered fourth blood type: AB

Oliver

1922

Percy Oliver established the first blood donor service

Mayo Clinic

1935

Mayo Clinic developed a method to store blood for transfusions

Fantus

1937

Dr. Bernard Fantus established the first blood bank

Landsteiner

1940

Karl Landsteiner discovered the Rh protein

AIDS

1959

First case of AIDS recorded in the Congo

Gallo

1984

Robert Gallo identified the virus causing AIDS

ELISA

1985

Development of ELISA test to screen for diseases such as HIV

Blood-screening

1987

Scientists began blood-screening tests for infectious diseases