-
2500 BCE
Egyptians used bloodletting to try to cure disease
Bloodletting is used today in the treatment of a few diseases, including hemochromatosis and polycythemia; however, these rare diseases were unknown and undiagnosable before the advent of scientific medicine. -
1659 BCE
Anton van Leeuwenhoek viewed blood cells under a microscope
The single-celled organisms and he called them "animalcules". He also improved the microscope and laid foundation for microbiology. He is often cited as the first microbiologist to study muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries. -
500 BCE
Greeks distinguished between arteries and veins
The veins and arteries of the human body have been objects of study as long as there has been interest in anatomy. Their significance, while not always well understood, has been an important question in the history of anatomy and physiology. -
First blood transfusion performed
British obstetrician Dr. James Blundell made efforts to treat hemorrhage by transfusion of human blood using a syringe. In 1818 following experiments with animals, he performed the first successful transfusion of human blood to treat postpartum hemorrhage. -
Karl Landsteiner discovered three blood types: A,B,O
Karl Landsteiner revolutionized medicine when, in 1900-1901, he identified three major human blood types: A, B, and O, which led to safe blood transfusions and millions of lives saved. He also suggested the use of blood types to assist in police enquiries. -
Alfred Decastello discovered fourth blood type: AB
His third group (C) indicated absence of both A and B antigens, but contains anti-A and anti-B. The following year, his students Adriano Sturli and Alfred von Decastello discovered the fourth type (but not naming it, and simply referred to it as "no particular type”). -
Percy Oliver established the first blood donor service
founder of the first voluntary blood donor panel. -
Mayo Clinic developed a method to store blood for transfusions
A blood transfusion is a routine medical procedure in which donated. Researchers are working on developing artificial blood.The donated blood that's been stored in a plastic bag enters your bloodstream through the IV. -
Dr. Bernard Fantus established the first blood bank
He established the first hospital blood bank in the United States in 1937 at Cook County Hospital, Chicago while he served there as director of the pharmacology and therapeutics department. -
Karl Landsteiner discovered the Rh protein
discovered the Rh factor—a type of protein, or antigen, on the surface of red blood cells -
First case of AIDS recorded in the Congo
The earliest known case of infection with HIV-1 in a human was detected in a blood sample collected in 1959 from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. -
Robert Gallo identified the virus causing AIDS
Gallo and his collaborators published a series of four papers in the scientific journal Science demonstrating that a retrovirus they had isolated, called HTLV-III in the belief that the virus was related to the leukemia viruses of Gallo's earlier work, was the cause of AIDS. -
Development of ELISA test to screen for diseases such as HIV
The Western blot is the most common test used to confirm positive results from an ELISA or rapid HIV test.The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test also detects antibodies made to fight an HIV infection. As with the Western blot, the IFA test is used to confirm the results of an ELISA. -
Scientists began developing blood-screening test for infectious diseases
The virus was identified in 1984 by French and American scientists, which meant that companies could begin to develop a test for antibodies produced in response to the virus. The first test used blood and was known as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or ELISA test. It was approved for use on March 2, 1985.
