Introduction
P/N 53063-50, Manual Revision: B
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Historical
Overview
The following paragraphs are a brief summary of the history of transfusion
methods.
Early Experiments with Transfusion
Some of the earliest recorded attempts at transfusion were undertaken by a
French physician, Jean Denys, who in the 1660’s performed transfusions between
animals and humans with predictably disastrous results.
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Quite reasonably, the French government stepped in and forbade the transfusion
of blood except with the permission of a member of the Faculty of Medicine of
Paris (which was strongly opposed to the practice). Rumors of Denys’
experiments and his results were circulated throughout Europe, and fear of such
practices spread to other countries.
In 1818 an English surgeon, James Blundell, reported on a human-to-human
transfusion that he had performed (though unsuccessfully). Blundell later did
perform successful transfusions, and his are the first recorded successes.
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More importantly, Blundell’s attempts were relatively scientific and he recorded
much useful information on transfusion. He also noted that the donation of a
small quantity of blood produced no harmful effects on the donor.
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First Recorded Uses of Autologous Transfusion
In the late 1800’s James Highmore, an English surgeon, proposed the use of
autotransfusion (as autologous transfusion is also known), and suggested that a
patient’s shed blood was an overlooked source that could be used to great
advantage. His article, appearing in The Lancet in 1874, advocated intraoperative
autotransfusion, specifically in the case of post-partum hemorrhage.
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Highmore
later recorded his successful use of autotransfusion in a variety of cases.
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The Use and Acceptance of Allogeneic Blood
In the early 1900’s techniques for typing and matching blood were developed.
Gradually, allogeneic transfusions became accepted, though the general method
was to transfuse blood directly from donor to recipient rather than to use banked
blood.
The first blood bank was established at Cook County Hospital, Chicago on March
15, 1937, but the real rise of allogeneic transfusions came during World War II.
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The need for blood during the war was large, as would be expected, and the
donor pool in the United States grew enormously to meet this need. Using
banked blood was, quite simply, the easiest alternative, and allogeneic
transfusions became the norm.
Naturally, doctors returning from the war continued to rely on donor blood
though several factors were developing which would make this less and less
practical. The Korean and later the Vietnam wars followed World War II placing
the usual high demands on the donor pool. Concurrently, other large demands