The history of blood transfusion dates back to ancient times when people tried to treat animals with blood. Hippocrates recommended that patients suffering from mental disorders drink the blood of healthy people (Community Blood Center, 2020). Blood was commonly credited as having a rejuvenating effect. It is also believed that blood is a miraculous liquid: once it is applied, life can be extended for many years (Community Blood Center, 2020). I find those facts especially interesting in the context of how blood transfusion and blood banks would be further developing.
The development of donation was accompanied by numerous ups and downs – from the deification of this method to the state ban on its use. The first documented intravenous injections refer to the beginning of the world’s first academy of sciences – the Royal Society of London, founded in the 60s of the 17th century (Community Blood Center, 2020). It was not easy to make an intravenous infusion of blood to a person in those days: before the invention of a hollow injection needle and a modern syringe, there were still two centuries left. Christopher Wren, in 1656 used a bird’s feather as an injection needle and bladders of fish and animals instead of a syringe (Community Blood Center, 2020). Although the first attempts gave good results, blood transfusion was not widely used. It was a technically rather complicated operation, and in several patients, the transfused blood caused severe complications.
Moreover, the works of early researchers showed that blood transfusion remains an exotic method of medicine, in which the result depends not on the doctor’s knowledge and skills but on random yet unknown factors. It is known that there are compatible and incompatible blood types (Community Blood Center, 2020). For these and many other reasons, blood transfusion was not a method of daily medical practice. The main and perhaps the only indication for blood transfusion was only acute blood loss.
The last century’s world wars and technological progress greatly accelerate the study and application of blood transfusion. Thanks to different methods of blood storage, as well as the invention of freon freezing chambers, blood began to be transported over long distances and stored for a longer time. In 1932, the world’s first blood bank was established in a Leningrad hospital (Community Blood Center, 2020). Soon after establishing the Institute, Leningrad scientists A.N. Filatov and N.G. Kartashevsky acquired a world priority in producing and using blood components: erythrocyte mass and plasma (Community Blood Center, 2020).
Strict adherence to blood collection and transfusion instructions has made blood transfusion relatively safe. This procedure has acquired the features of almost a universal method of treatment. It began to be advertised not only for the treatment of blood loss and anemia but also for strengthening strength, nutrition, fighting infection, and preventing various diseases. And so it went on almost until the mid-80s, until the AIDS epidemic radically changed the attitude towards blood transfusion.
Currently, the blood service is one of the dynamically developing sectors of health care that is focused on ensuring the quality, safety, and availability of transfusion care. Priority areas at the present stage of the development of transfusion medicine are the maximum automation of work processes based on the development of information systems, the use of high-tech equipment, and the improvement of the product quality management system.