Blood is very vital to life, and in some instances, doctors have prescribed blood transfusions as a remedy for keeping someone alive.
This procedure would be risky if blood that doesn’t match the one your body produces is administered; yet, this was the case until 1901 when a scientist made some interesting findings. And his name?
Meet, Karl Landsteiner
The reason we know about this at all is because of an Austrian-American biologist by the name, Karl Landsteiner, who discovered the blood groups in 1901.
Prior to Landsteiner’s discovery, blood transfusions had been attempted as early as the 17th century. Successful transfusions were conducted between animals, but when attempts were made to transfuse animal blood into humans, the human immune system rejected the blood, which is so serious as to be fatal!
What happens is that the host’s antibodies, produced by the host’s white blood cells can attack the new red blood cells, breaking them down and causing blood to clot in the veins, also known as an embolism.
Though, there were some successful human transfusions that took place in the 19th century, it was largely by luck that they succeeded, and many did not.
The A-B-O Blood Groups
When Landsteiner identified the A, B and O blood groups, he created a means for testing the compatibility between donor and recipient blood, making blood transfusions much safer. While receiving the wrong blood still does sometimes happen today, it is usually by accident, very rare, and medical staff are better equipped to deal with the emergencies that result.
For his study and discovery, Landsteiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930, and his achievements have extended to other areas as well. He worked for over a decade on immunity and antibodies and, in collaboration with physician Erwin Popper, isolated the virus that causes polio in 1908, which in turn allowed the creation of a vaccine.
Karl Landsteiner died in June 1943, and would have been 148 years old on June 14.