Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the taking of blood or blood-based products from one individual and inserting them into the circulatory system of another. It can be considered a form of organ transplant. Blood transfusions may treat medical conditions, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, surgery, shock and where the red cell producing mechanism (or some other normal and essential component) fails (see blood diseases).

History

Roman Catholic authors take pains to discredit the contemporary chronicler Stefano Infessura's story of Innocent VIII's deathbed. As the Pope sank into a coma, the harrowing story was told that, at the suggestion of a Jewish physician, the blood of three boys was infused into the dying pontiff's veins. They were ten years old, and had been promised a ducat each. All three died. Historians of medicine note this event as the first reported historical attempt at a blood transfusion.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Stefano Infessura - Innocent VIII - Pope - Ducat

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With Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood, more sophisticated research into blood transfusion began in the 17th century, with successful experiments of transfusions between animals. However, successive attempts on humans continued to bring death.

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The first fully-documented human blood transfusion was administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys on June 15, 1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep to a 15-year old boy (the boy later died, and Denys was accused of murder).

Related Topics:
Jean-Baptiste Denys - June 15 - 1667 - Sheep

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Only in the first decade of the 19th century was the reason for such death found in the existence of blood types, and the practice of mixing some blood from the donor and the receiver before the transfusion allowed a greater number of successes.

Related Topics:
19th century - Blood types

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In 1818 Dr.James Blundell, a British obstetrician, performed the first successful transfusion of human blood to a patient for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. He used the patient's husband as a donor, and extracted four ounces of blood from his arm to transfuse into his wife. During the years 1825 and 1830, he performed 10 transfusions,five of which were beneficial and published his results. He also invented many instruments for the transfusion of blood. He made a lot of money from this endeavour, in the neighbourhood of today's equivalent of $50,000,000.

Related Topics:
James Blundell - Obstetrician - Hemorrhage

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In 1840, at St. George's School in London, Samuel Armstrong Lane, aided by Dr. Blundell, performed the first successful whole blood transfusion to treat hemophilia.

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While the first transfusions had to be made directly from donor to receiver before coagulation, in the 1910s it was discovered that by adding anticoagulants and refrigerating the blood it was possible to store it for some days, thus opening the way for blood banks. The first non-direct transfusion was performed on March 27, 1914 by the Belgian doctor Albert Hustin, who used sodium citrate as an anticoagulant. The first blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled was performed on January 1,1916. It was performed by the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), and the procedure was very successful.

Related Topics:
Coagulation - 1910s - Anticoagulant - Refrigerating - Blood bank - March 27 - 1914 - Belgian - Albert Hustin - Sodium citrate - January 1 - 1916 - Royal Army Medical Corps

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There is an urban legend concerning one of the pioneers of blood transfusion research, Dr. Charles Drew. Drew's research led to the discovery that blood could be separated into blood plasma and red blood cells, and that the components could be frozen separately. Blood stored in this way lasted longer and was less likely to become contaminated. His untimely death after an automobile accident is commonly believed to have resulted partly from delayed access to emergency blood transfusion treatment because of his race. The popular television series M*A*S*H once aired an episode (see Season 2, Episode 9 - "Dear Dad ... Three") propagating this legend. Contemporary eye-witness accounts however, contradict that version.

Related Topics:
Urban legend - Charles Drew - Blood plasma - Red blood cells - Death - Automobile - Race - Television - M*A*S*H - Episode

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