Transfusions, however, had a history going back to 1490, when pope innocent viii was in deteriorating health and his physician determined that he needed the blood of three healthy boys. British obstetrician james blundell performs the first successful transfusion of human blood to a patient for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. Doctors werent sure why until blood types were discovered in 1901. The article provided his methods, specifying where the. Blood transfusions are a therapeutic measure used to restore blood or plasma volume. The first report about the frequency of lutheran blood group in iran was published in 1979. Physician richard lower keeps dogs alive by transfusion of blood from other dogs 1667 jeanbaptiste denis in france and richard lower in england separately report successful. A tale of medicine and murder in the scientific revolution, vanderbilt university professor holly tucker tells the. The worlds first experiments with blood transfusion occurred in the. Though transfusion proper moving blood directly into a recipients veins with the intention of healing a variety of afflictions might have awaited william harveys earlyseventeenthcentury work on bloods circulation, a long and colourful tradition of moving blood preceded it.
Blood transfusions are literally lifesaving, and theyre easily one of the most important medical advances in history. Harvey lectured on the subject of blood transfusion for a number of years and finally published his findings in a book. An epic history of medicine and commerce by douglas starr. Jeanbaptiste denys 1643 3 october 1704 was a french physician notable for having performed the first fully documented human blood transfusion, a xenotransfusion. Schneiders book skillfully fills this void with his firsthand investigations of the history of transfusions in africa. By julie ruel, social media manager, stanford blood center. These and many other various entries in the journal book of the royal society, record the earliest suggestions and attempts to carry out blood transfusions in. The abo blood group was discovered in the first decade of the 1900s by austrian physician karl landsteiner. In a compilation by mourant in 1958, referring to a limited and small sampling from iran tehran by a. Laboratory blood tests to recheck compatibility and detect complications appropriate health care treatment from a physician. William harvey was a doctor who identified that that blood flowed through blood vessels in one direction. The first known blood transfusion is attempted soon afterward. William schneiders new book is the first extensive historical study of blood transfusion in africa.
In the last third of the 19th century, the obstetrician james hobson aveling invented this blood transfusion device, a small indiarubber tube, for emergency blood transfusions. According to legend, he desperately needed a blood transfusion, but doctors at a hospital in burlington, north carolina, refused to admit him, and he died. This story is told in several black history books and has been repeated by dick gregory, among others. A history of blood transfusions and accompanying ethical. By paul theerman, associate director three hundred and fifty years ago, on december 17, 1666, the philosophical transactions published the first account of blood transfusion, in the form of a letter from physician richard lower to chemist robert boyle. However, the history of blood transfusion originates from antiquity, when people tried to be treated with the blood of animals. But the book focuses singularly on transfusions and blood products as if this is all weve ever done with blood, without even a passing mention to other branches. Essential to life, it is often taken for granted, especially when it stays where it belongs, safely contained in our bodies. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets. In 1666, at the royal society, in london, richard lower. Six years later transfusions began being administered according to blood type. Holly tucker, a professor at vanderbilt university in nashville, was going about her usual business as she researched information for a class lecture on the discovery of blood.
British physician charles egerton jennings also wrote on transfusions lifegiving properties. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. In 1667, jeanbaptiste denis who was physician to king louis xiv, performed the transfusion of blood from an animal to a human. A history of the discovery of the circulatory system 7. History of blood transfusions 1628 to now red cross. The early history of blood transfusions stanford blood. He saw their application as a vital component to contemporary medical treatment, especially obstetrics, and. Microscopist jan swammerdam observes and describes red blood cells. Blood transfusion reactions, side effects, risks, and complications include allergic reactions, infections, and lung injuries. Long before doctors attempted to infuse the blood from one human to the next, the blood of animals was used to fill the hungry veins of accident victims. A brief history of blood transfusions for this months optimum fprime, and in celebration of world blood donor day today, we thought we would explore the colourful history of the first blood transfusions, toppedoff with a roundup of some of.
It discusses the history of bloodletting and the beginning of transfusions. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing largescale blood banks early in world war ii. First published in 1897, dracula predates physician karl landsteiners discovery of blood type crossmatching by several years, and, like the contemporary science the novel immortalizes in its pages, it never mentions whether the four transfusions lucy receives are compatible ones. Lindeboom, the story of a blood transfusion to a pope, journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, vol.
The history of blood transfusion in subsaharan africa. These early transfusions were from person to person, and sometimes didnt work. The information i got was from the book kill or cure. Richard lower is credited with performing the first successful blood transfusion from one animal to another in the 17th century. The history of blood transfusion in subsaharan africa, by william h. Here is the sweeping story of a substance that has been feared, revered, mythologized, and used in magic and medicine from earliest timesa substance that has become the center of a huge, secretive, and often dangerous worldwide. There are sound medical reasons to avoid blood transfusions. A blood transfusion is a lifesaving, routine procedure used for blood loss from severe injuries or infections, kidney disease, and complications during surgery. By danielle aloia, special projects librarian june 14 is world blood donor day, a date selected to coincide with the birthday of karl landsteiner 18681943, the father of blood transfusions. Vignettes, in decorative oval borders, showing blood transfusions from animal to human. This may be because your bodys not making enough red blood cells or because you have lost blood. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report.
Blood offers in abundance the qualities that define the best popular science writing. Brilliantly written book it really is an epic story from right at the beginning from harvey and blood circulation to hiv blood transfusion scandals of modern day. A tale of medicine and murder in the scientific revolution, vanderbilt university professor holly tucker tells the sometimes gory history of blood transfusions, a. The mystery of human blood types science smithsonian. Matthew gottlieb, history of the first blood transfusion but a fable agreed upon. This discovery also directly led to the establishment of the first blood depot by the british during world war i. A meandering history of blood tackles transfusions, taboos, and trauma blood is a vital fluid. A blood transfusion is when youre given blood from someone else a donor. His work earned him the the nobel prize in books, health and history. Denis transfused the blood from a sheep to a 15year old boy and. A history of blood transfusions books, health and history. Blood is constantly being renewed by stem cells in our bone marrow. A brief history of blood transfusion through the years.
Soon, the madman mauroy was deadand denis was accused of murder. Mobile military hospital xrayunit 1915 in the writings of the ancient greek poet homer, it is said that odysseus, in order to return speech and consciousness to the shadows of the underworld, gave them blood to drink. No one knows exactly what happened, but the boys died, and the pope did, too. Landsteiner discovered the a, b, ab, and o blood types in 1901, making blood transfusions safer. He studied in montpellier and was the personal physician to king louis xiv.
This book is more about the controversy surrounding human blood transfusions than the actual history of transfusions themselves. In his book transfusion, a short work on the processs history and modes of application, jennings advocates for the continued use of and experimentation with transfusions. His physician advised a blood transfusion as a therapeutic measure for the popes illness. The key to successful transfusion was the discovery of the major blood groups see chapter 8 by landsteiner in 19001, and the first transfusions were made during the first world war. Page especially elaborates on the very first blood transfusion in 1667.
Patients receiving transfusions are usually in a hospital or outpatient surgical facility, and reactions can. The procedure, which was first carried out between dogs, was gruesome. Powerfully involving narrative and incisive detail, clarity and inherent drama. Also, as in the 1915 lewisohn discoveries, this allowed for blood to be stored in containers for later transfusion, and aided in the transition from the veintovein method to direct transfusion. Oswald robertson was credited as the creator of the blood depots. More important, though, god commands that we abstain from blood because what it represents is sacred to him. The type of blood transfusion depends on the situation. The universality of the o blood group is identified. Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood products into ones circulation intravenously. Up until then, blood was assumed to wash forwards and backwards in the vessels, like the tides of the sea.
Blood transfusion, transfer of blood into the vein of a human or animal recipient. Ajir was seen, but there was no systematic and comprehensive research about types and frequencies of blood groups, serum proteins, and red blood cell enzymes, found in iran. Through a series of experiments, landsteiner classified blood. Emboldened, denis plucked a mentallyill man off the streets of paris and performed a series of blood transfusions. The worlds first experiments with blood transfusion occurred in the mid1660s in england. An epic history of medicine and commerce by douglas. Medicine and murder were two words i did not expect to see together in the title of an npr talk on the history of blood transfusions. In a wideranging and energetic new book, nine pints metropolitan, the. Starrs book is a stunning look at superstitions, medicine, war, invention, illness. This book chronicles the blood industry through the first transfusions leading up to the commerce of blood through donations and the red cross.
History shows that early christians refused to consume whole blood or even to use it for medical reasons. The first section of this book the history of blood transfusion was fascinating. The book details the spread of aids through tainted blood which pretty much wiped out the entire hemophiliac population that were dependent on these donations and the corrective actions that followed. The book provides a new and critical framework for understanding how transfusing blood may have catapulted simian viruses from remote places in. The blood may be taken directly from a donor or obtained from a blood bank. Shortly afterward, the earliest known blood transfusion is attempted.
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