The Discovery of Blood Groups in the Twentieth Century

The discovery of blood groups in the twentieth century contributed to great progress in blood transfusion medicine. It enabled new professional approaches and advances. It reduced blood donor–patient blood incompatibility, reduced mortality rates, and improved survival. Thanks to this amazing discovery, blood transfusions have, over time, become a safe procedure. Blood groups were discovered by Dr. Karl Landsteiner, an immunologist and pathologist from the University of Vienna. He won the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his outstanding work. Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups in 1900. In 1901, he divided human blood into three groups: A, B, and C. In 1902, his associates, Adriano Sturli and Alfred von Decastello, described the fourth group, AB. The Rh blood group system was discovered in 1937 by Landsteiner and Alexander Solomon Wiener. Their research was actually published in 1940. The clinical significance of the Rh blood group system was first discussed by Dr. Philip Levine and Dr. Rufus Stetson in 1939. Besides the ABO and Rh blood group systems, other clinically significant blood group systems were also important discoveries. Reuben Ottenberg performed the first blood transfusion using ABO-compatible blood grouping and cross-matching of blood between the blood donor and patient in 1908. Also in 1908, an Italian scientist named Carlo Moreschi first described what would later be known as the Coombs test. Through time, many other advanced discoveries followed.