Blood banks begin
Blood banks play a crucial role in modern healthcare by providing a vital resource: human blood, which cannot be artificially synthesized. These facilities enable healthy individuals to donate blood, which is then collected, stored, and transfused to patients in need—whether due to illness, injury, or emergencies. The practice of blood banking began gaining momentum in the early 20th century, building on scientific discoveries that improved the preservation of blood for transfusions. The first large-scale blood bank was established in 1937 at Chicago's Cook County Hospital, marking a significant development in medical practices.
Over the years, blood banks have not only facilitated life-saving transfusions but have also contributed to important medical research, leading to advancements that enhance health outcomes for many individuals. The ongoing need for blood donations remains critical, especially during times of crisis such as disasters or wars. Overall, blood banks represent a vital intersection of community health and medical innovation, underscoring the importance of voluntary blood donation in supporting public health.
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Subject Terms
Blood banks begin
The Event Establishment of the first facility for collecting and storing blood plasma for use in blood transfusions
Date March 15, 1937
Place Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
Although scientists have done research into the properties of blood since the Middle Ages, the ability to extract, store, and transfuse human blood into other persons was not developed until the early twentieth century, and this technology gave rise to the creation of storage facilities known as “blood banks.” In 1937, the first American blood bank was established at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
An essential fluid for human life, blood cannot be synthesized outside a living human body. However, blood from a healthy person can often be used effectively by another person who is in need of this life-sustaining fluid. Every day, many sick and injured people need blood or blood products in order to stay alive and heal. In times of disaster and war, the need for blood and blood products increases dramatically. A blood bank is a health-care process in which a healthy person deposits a small portion of his or her blood, usually about one pint, in a sanitary blood-drawing process. The blood is then stored under sanitary conditions for a period of time. Later, the blood is transfused into another person.
The ability to store human blood and preserve it so that it can be transfused into patients rested on nineteenth and early twentieth century research developments and discoveries, such as the existence of fibrinogen, fibrin, the Rh factor, and enzymes. Safeguarding blood for transfusion has always been a central problem. The precious liquid is unstable, and fresh supplies need to be available for unforeseen medical emergencies.
The use of stored blood was begun in 1918 by Oswald H. Robertson, a World War Iphysician, who found blood could be kept virtually intact for several days by storing it at low temperatures, from 35.6 to 39.2 degrees Celsius. John Lundy, the director of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, began storing blood for later use at that facility in 1935. However, the first large blood bank was established at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1937 by Bernard Fantus, the director of therapeutics at the hospital.
Impact
Since the development of the first permanent blood bank during the 1930’s, the process of collecting, storing, and transfusing human blood has made major contributions to the advancement of medicine. Blood banks and their products have saved countless lives. Also, research conducted with human blood has led to many medical discoveries that have helped save many lives and have helped improve the quality of life for millions of people.
Bibliography
Hillier, Christopher D., et al. Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine. New York: Elsevier, 2002.
Rabbits, J. A., et al. “Mayo Clinic and the Origins of Blood Banking.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings 82, no. 9 (2007): 1117-1118.
Starr, Douglas P. Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. New York: Knopf, 1998.
Wailoo, Keith. Drawing Blood: Technology and Disease Identity in Twentieth Century America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.