The First Successful Human-to-Human Blood Transfusion Was in 1818

In an era before modern medicine, childbirth was fraught with peril, and postpartum hemorrhage was a frequent and fatal complication. Spurred to action by the helplessness he felt watching patients bleed to death, British obstetrician James Blundell attempted a desperate, groundbreaking procedure. In 1818, using a syringe he designed, he transferred blood from a patient's husband directly into her arm. Against all odds, the woman survived, marking a pivotal moment in medical history.

What made Blundell’s work both heroic and terrifyingly risky was that it was a gamble played in the dark. He performed about ten such transfusions in his career, but only half were successful.