Since the beginning of history, the true nature and function of blood have been shrouded in mystery. The ancients, for instance, held blood to be the most important of the four body "humors," the seat and source of the passions. Even to this day we call a person "hot blooded" if he is easily roused to anger. "Cold blooded" still applies to the calculating man or woman, and "bad blood" commonly is used to denote resentment and desire for revenge. All these everyday expressions are the long-lived survivors of beliefs once widely and firmly held-and not long ago at that!

Even as late as the time of our country's birth, bloodletting was a universal medical practice. It was generally believed that excessive amounts of blood caused all sorts of bodily ills, particularly the then-prevalent fevers. Overly enthusiastic applications of this "cure" no doubt hastened the untimely end of many of its victims. Herbal remedies of all sorts were widely used to "thin the blood," especially in the spring. A few of us might still have vivid recollections of our grandmothers' herb tea as well as the detested sulfur and molasses.

Using human blood to treat disease and trauma had its beginnings in 1667 in France, when Jean-Baptiste Denis documented a direct human blood transfusion. This was a scant forty years after William Harvey discovered the circulatory system. These early direct donor-to-patient transfusions were, however, frequently disastrous because it was not possible to predict donor-recipient blood type compatibility.

In 1901, the German scientist Dr. Karl Landsteiner discovered that there were different blood groups. He categorized those groups as types A, B, and O. Since he found that all humans fall into one of these groups, the ABO system provided a significant answer to the puzzle of why some transfusions had worked and others failed.

The first true "blood bank" in the United States was organized at Chicago's Cook County Hospital in 1936. The first "community-based" blood center, Irwin Memorial Blood Bank was established in San Francisco in 1941. Others were founded in all parts of the country during the next decade. Blood banking, however, began growing in earnest with the return from World War II of physicians who had seen the effectiveness of transfusion therapy and began to demand that blood be made available for treatment of their patients.

In 1947, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) was organized to support and encourage continued blood research, to promote exchange of scientific information, and to develop standards of practice for blood banks. By 1948 the American National Red Cross had begun operating a full-scale blood program to collect and distribute blood to patients in need.

Dr. Charles Drew was a pioneer in blood plasma preservation. In addition, he was a major contributor to the advancement of blood banking in the United States. He helped supply thousands of units of plasma for World War II victims.

Blood banking gained a greater level of sophistication with the introduction in 1953 of the plastic blood bag by the Fenwal Company. The plastic blood bag with its satellite bags made it more practical to treat specific problems by separating and using the blood's various components.

Progress toward a blood supply donated exclusively by volunteers, along with improvements in hepatitis testing, has significantly increased patient assurance that transfused blood and blood components are of the highest quality.

In 1959, Richard Lewishon found that when sodium citrate was added to freshly drawn blood, the blood would not clot (coagulate). For the first time, this discovery allowed the blood collected from a donor to be stored for later transfusion to a patient.

In 1962, seven community-based blood centers banded together with the help of local hospitals, physicians and civic groups to establish America’s Blood Centers. Medical expertise, customer service, and putting the needs of the community first are the cornerstones of America’s Blood Centers that continue today.