Blood transfusions have been one of the most incredible medical advancements in human history, saving countless lives. The first transfusion is said to have taken place in 1667, but it wasn’t successful. The Anesthesia History Association explains:

“Although the exact date is disputed, it is believed that on either June 15 or 28, 1667 a Parisian physician and astrologer, Professor Jean-Baptiste Denis […] performed the first blood transfusion involving a human. The patient was a feverous young man on whom other doctors had employed leeches 20 times […] Denis transfused him with several ounces of either dog or lamb’s blood”

That’s right, they used dog or lamb’s blood. It wasn’t until 1818 that obstetrician James Blundell tried the first human-to-human transfusion. He had a hemorrhaging mother who was quickly losing blood, so he had her husband donate blood and transfuse it into her. He continued to perform this procedure on other women experiencing hemorrhaging due to childbirth to great success (at the time). 50% of his patients who had a transfusion survived.

This is actually surprisingly high since they had no concept of blood type at the time. They were lucky, however, because a pregnant woman’s immune system is naturally weakened. This means that the complications that normally happen due to improper blood type transfusions wouldn’t be as severe. On top of that, he only did the transfusions on women who were close to death anyway, so a 50% survival rate is quite impressive.

In 1901, Karl Landsteiner figured out the blood types, which are based on types of antibodies that are on the surface of red blood cells. 40 years later, he further improved this knowledge with the Rhesus factor (the positive or negative after the blood type). Today, transfusions are far safer than ever thanks to this knowledge.

One of the biggest problems out there today is that there isn’t enough blood to go around. Once blood is donated, it has to be used within about five days or it goes bad. This, combined with the fact that populations are getting older, which means more people need blood and fewer are able to donate.

So, what is the solution?

Artificial blood. That’s right, just like in the popular HBO series, “True Blood”, scientists are working on various types of artificial blood that could help meet the growing demand for blood transfusions without relying on donations from other people.

There is a trial that took place in Japan in 2022 that used up to 100mL of an artificial blood substitute, and it showed no serious negative side effects. There are other trials that use blood substitutes that are made using platelets from expired donations, which also show promise. These are just two of many efforts being made to create artificial blood that can safely be used in patients.

According to some estimates, it may be possible that artificial blood cells could be available for use in patients within just five years.

Let’s just hope that the revelation that vampires are real doesn’t happen soon after.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.