Discovery of Blood Groups

Medicine & Pharmacology 1901

Discoverers: Karl Landsteiner

Overview

Identification of the ABO blood group system by demonstrating that serum from one person can agglutinate the red blood cells of another.

Significance

Made safe blood transfusions possible, saving countless lives in surgery and trauma care, and opened new avenues in forensic science.

Methodology

Systematic mixing of blood sera and red cells from different individuals, observing agglutination patterns to classify blood into groups A, B, and O.

Impact