Dr. Garcia’s Patientsnovel about Almudena Grandes brought to TV RTVEalso came a long time ago Netflix. The last stragglers who haven’t seen the series yet can now enjoy the Doctor’s story Guillermo Garcia Medinafictional character who actually tells the story of a real doctor: a Canadian Norman Bethune. His role was key during Spanish Civil Warsince it developed the first mobile blood transfusion service that made it to the front. His work was groundbreaking during the war, although the truth is that history blood transfusion it’s much older.
Centuries of failure and some success led to the blood transfusion that saves so many lives today. It is currently a very well streamlined process, which is also possible thanks to the kindness donorswho come to donate their blood whenever they are asked. But there have been many mistakes and deaths in the past until the right process was found.
First, the discoveries about blood circulation made by Miguel Servetus and William Harvey. Before they discovered this process, blood transfusions were attempted, but with disastrous results. After this discovery was made, the discovery of blood groups, Karl Landsteiner. Little by little new parts were added. But what was the mystery of the blood transfusion before it was put in place?
Disastrous first try
in the center century XVIMiguel Servetus first described pulmonary circulation, explaining how blood is oxygenated and deoxygenated as it circulates through the body. Later, in 17th centuryWilliam Harvey described the process blood circulation more. This was a key moment for transfusions because it was already known where the blood circulated. However, there have been some attempts before.
The first occurred in 1492, when the Pope Innocent VIII fell into a coma your doctor, Giacomo San Genesiowanted to try the transfusion of healthy individuals. For shedding blood three boys aged 10, under the promise of some money. Since neither Servetus nor Harvey had yet reached their conclusions, the doctor injected blood through the pontiff’s mouth, but to no avail. Actually, both the Pope and the three children died.
All this was told by the historian Stefano Infessura, although there are experts who believe that this is a fiction to discredit the Church. What is clear is that Innocent VIII died in the same year after a coma, and that his doctor could not do anything for him, no matter how hard he tried.
Successful blood transfusions by pure chance
In the 16th century, shortly after the death of Innocent VIII, the Spanish conquistadors who arrived in America saw how Incas and other indigenous cultures They have performed blood transfusions on their patients with a high success rate.
The Spaniards were surprised; Well, although in Europe the blood circulation was already known and it was known where to put the blood, the attempts made were unsuccessful, and no one knew why.
To find out, it was necessary to wait until the beginning of the 20th century. And this is what in 1901 an Austrian pathologist Karl Landsteiner first described AB0 system blood types, and later, in 1940. Rh. He explained the importance of transfusions between compatible groups, where 0 is the universal donor and AB is the universal recipient.
Although 0- is a universal donor, 0+ can also donate any positive blood type. In short, group 0 people are excellent donors. Today we know that among the native Incas there was a high percentage of people with type 0. For this reason, the high percentage of successful blood transfusions was due to favorable chance, while in Europe, with a much greater variety of blood types, it was more difficult than there compatibility if it has not been studied before.
the best among people
In the 17th century, with a much better knowledge of the circulation and the cases in which blood transfusions were needed, they began to be performed for diseases such as syphilis. It is known that one of the symptoms of this sexually transmitted infection is anemia, which is treated with blood transfusions.
And it began to be done, but not quite well. In 1667 a French physician Jean-Baptiste Denis described the case of a patient with syphilis who died after three blood transfusions … lamb!
At first it seemed that everything was going well, but later the patient’s condition worsened with symptoms such as fever, pain in the kidneys and stomach, or darkening of the blood. He was clearly suffering from very strong inflammatory responsehey his kidneys were missing cleanse this blood that the body rejected. Thus, it was found that the blood must be compatible. First, it had to be the same species, but even within the humans themselves, there was some compatibility that was eventually explained by Landsteiner’s discovery. This made blood transfusions much more efficient, saving many, many lives.
The real story of a blood transfusion during the Spanish Civil War
Guillermo Garcia Medina did not exist. But Spanish existed Frederic Duran-Jorda and Canadian Norman Bethune. The first set up a blood bank in Barcelona that allowed people to donate blood remotely during the Civil War. However, the second one went further, delivering blood directly to the battlefield, as Dr. Garcia does.
can be frozen
To give the blood transfusion we know today, all that was left to do was freeze it. This is what was discovered in the late 1930s. Charles Drew discovered that blood can be divided into plasma, which is its liquid fraction, and the cells it contains. Plasma could be frozen so that it could be stored longer and there would be no need for constant donations.
It has also been observed over the years what is the optimal storage temperature for each type of cell, as well as how long they can be stored without damage. This made it easier to donate blood for each patient’s specific disease and eliminated the need to always trained donors. As a result, many lives have been saved. It took centuries to perfect the technique, but those who began to explore it knew how much it had to offer us. I’m sure everyone would be very proud of what we’ve come to today.
Source: Hiper Textual
