The First Human to Human Blood Transfusion in 1818

In the nineteenth century, the first advances in the field of human blood transfusion were made by experts who advocated blood transfusions for the replacement of blood loss, especially by English obstetrician Dr. James Blundell (1790–1878), who saw blood transfusions as a solution in emergency cases to the many bleedings he encountered as an obstetrician. He revived blood transfusion and presented it in a new way, which later paved the way for many experts in theoretical and practical improvements. As an obstetrician, Blundell dealt with many severe postpartum hemorrhages in which women bleed heavily after giving birth and with other cases, which many times ended with the death of women. This encouraged him to explore blood transfusion as a means of improving the rate of survival after childbirth and in general. Blundell was heavily influenced by the work of Scottish doctor John Henry Leacock in his decision to use blood transfusions in clinical practice. Dr. Blundell was the first to construct two ingenious instruments for human-to-human blood transfusion: the Impellor and the Gravitator. The Impellor was used for the receipt of the blood donor’s blood and to push the blood forward into the inserted cannula. The Gravitator was used for transmitting the blood in a regulated stream from one individual to another. Out of ten cases of his blood transfusions, five out of eight were successful. He sometimes used a syringe to perform blood transfusions.