Blood Groups and Transfusions

Why Blood Types Matter When Europeans first experimented with blood transfusions in the 17th century, so many patients died that the procedure was outlawed in England, France and Italy. It is said that the Incas in South America began transfusing blood much earlier, and that fewer deaths resulted. If so, the reason, not understood at the time, may have been that nearly all of the Incas belonged to the same blood type, while the Europeans, …

…worry about if the blood you are receiving is unsafe. Blood transfusions are carefully monitored by professional staff, and the type of blood must be checked my two registered nurses to be sure it is the proper type for the patient. But if any complications do occur they will happen within the first fifteen minutes of the transfusions, and the professional doing the procedure should have adrenalin on hand in case an anaphylactic reaction occurs.