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In 2500 B.C., Egyptians used bloodletting to try to cure diseases. Bloodletting is when a doctor removes blood from a patient to cure an illness.
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Greeks distinguished between arteries and veins in 500 B.C. They determined that arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to various parts of the body. They also determined that veins carry deoxygenated blood toward the heart.
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Leeuwenhoek was the first to view blood cells under a microscope.
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Philip Syng Physick performed the first blood transfusion. Blood transfusion is the act of transferring donated blood, blood products, and other fluid into the circulatory system of a person. He is best known as the "Father of American Surgery."
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Karl Landsteiner discovered three blood types: A, B, O.
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Alfred Decastello discovered the fourth blood type: AB.
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Percy Oliver established the first blood donor service.
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Mayo Clinic developed a method to store blood for transfusions.
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Dr. Bernard Fantus established the first blood bank.
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Karl Landsteiner discovered the Rh protein.
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First case of AIDS recorded in the Congo
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Robert Gallo identified the virus causing AIDS.
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Development of ELISA test to screen for diseases such as HIV.
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Scientists began developing blood-screening tests for infectious diseases.
