The History of Blood By sjvmendenhall 2500 BCE Egyptians used bloodletting to try to cure diseases 500 BCE Greeks distinguished between arteries and veins 1659 Anton van Leeuwenhoek viewed blood cells under a microscope 1795 First blood transfusion performed 1901 Karl Landsteiner discovered A, B,and O blood 1902 Alfred Decastello discovered type AB blood 1922 Percy Oliver established the first blood donor service 1935 Mayo Clinic developed a method to store blood for transfusions 1937 Dr. Bernard Fantus established the first blood bank 1940 Karl Landsteiner discovered the Rh protein 1959 First case of AIDS is recorded in the Congo 1984 Robert Gallo discovered the virus causing AIDS 1985 Development of ELISA test to screen for diseases such as HIV 1987 Scientists began developing blood-screening tests for infectious diseases
