Blood transfusion: The beginning

Abstract

Blood transfusion, that is the transference of blood from the circulation of one individual to that of another for practical therapeutic purposes, is of relatively recent origin. However, the history of blood transfusion dates back to ancient times. The early history of the use of blood for medical purposes is associated with mystical properties attached to it in those days. Blood-letting has been widely practiced since the 4th century BC and was based on Hippocrates’ precept that illnesses originated in an imbalance of the four humors that constitute living matter. Although there are a number of descriptions of “blood infusion” in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, it was the publication of the discovery of the circulation of blood in 1628 by William Harvey and the work of Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle that paved the way to the possible practical attempts at actual blood transfusion. The first blood transfusion from an animal to an animal was performed by Richard Lower in 1665, while Jean Baptiste Denis in 1667 carried out the first blood transfusion from animals to humans. At the same time similar experiments were carried out in other countries. Practical blood transfusion in many instances was the consequence of developments in other sciences. This review summarises some of the major aspects relating to the early history of blood transfusion.