On this day, September 26th, we would like to recognize James Blundell and his accomplishments as a physician. James Blundell is known for his work in blood transfusions and was the first to document a successful human-to-human transfusion.
Background
James Blundell worked as a physician and wanted to prevent women passing away due to blood loss during childbirth. He was familiar with past work on transfusions (the process of transferring blood from one organism to another) and did his own testing using dogs to gather early data. Blundell found that the quicker the transfusion is done, the better chances the person receiving blood had to live. He also found out the importance of having the right donor, as well as preventing air in the tools used during the procedure.
Achievements
It was on this day in 1818, James Blundell would perform and document his first human-to-human transfusion. He went on to do ten more transfusion and five of them were beneficial to the patient's life. Blundell also created two new tools to help him with transfusions, the Gravitator and the Impellor, pictured below. Blundell also created better methods for abdominal surgeries and other surgeries for women.
Importance Today
James Blundell's contribution to blood work have come a long way since his time in the 1800s. We now know the 4 blood types that make donors (people giving blood) a good match for the recipient (person receiving blood), and blood donations are a very important way to help save someone's life. As of 2021, there were 6.5 million blood donors in the United States, and 118.5 million donations made worldwide. We are also more aware of diseases that can travel in blood, and can protect people that receive blood transfusions from those diseases. Blood transfusions take place every 2 seconds in the United states, making Blundell's early work very important for where we are today.
For more statistics on blood transfusions please visit https://americasblood.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/U.S.-Blood-Donation-Statistics-and-Public-Messaging-Guide-Jan.-2024.pdf
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