Leo J. McCarthy, M.D. an expert on the history of blood transfusion, and Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medicine and Pediatrics continues research and lectures on transfusion. In 1991, Dr. McCarthy became a Fellow in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, which was established in 1654, and in 1994 he became a Fellow in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Dr. McCarthy created and endowed the Annual McCarthy Lecture in Transfusion Medicine in 1997 at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he, also, established an accredited fellowship in Transfusion Medicine in collaboration with the Indiana Blood Center. At the 1997 Indiana Association of Blood Banks he received the Victor H. Muller Award to acknowledge his contributions to transfusion medicine, blood banking and transfusion services.

In 2002 he received John Elliott Memorial Award that recognizes an individual for outstanding service to the American Association of Blood Banks, an international, not-for-profit association dedicated to the advancement of science and the practice of transfusion medicine. One year later in recognition of his mastery of and passion for transfusion medicine, he became a Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest honor awarded by the Governor. Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae: PDF (Requires Acrobat Reader)

Dr. McCarthy, the formerly director of Transfusion Medicine for Indiana University School of Medicine for three decades, now produces scholarly works on the history of transfusion. Dr. McCarthy has created two unique, graphic visions of blood transfusion throughout history. The Timeline of the History of Transfusion (PDF)

The origins of blood transfusion are lost in the myths of antiquity, but certainly the existence of the A and B antigens in nature provide the basis for crucial serologic testing. Leaching was known to the ancient Egyptians in 3000 BC, and was mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit in 1500 BC as noted by Alexander the Great. It was Galen (131 AD -ca 201 AD http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_galen.html), the physician to Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who popularized the concept of blood circulation, which was subsequently disproven by William Harvey, 1628 AD http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/williamharvey.html . Galen popularized the humoral theory, which, also, was embraced by Hippocrates (470 BC-410 BC) but probably originated with Empedocles or Pythagoras. Subsequently blood letting by cupping, phlegms, and barber-surgeons attempted to release "bad blood" (bad humors) and thus reestablish the correct humoral balance, which was equated with good health.

The World Wars created an extraordinary demand for blood transfusion, and the Allied Forces were aided by a well-organized blood supply. Drs. Edwin Cohn and Charles Drew revolutionized the procurement and distribution of plasma and blood respectively.

The technique of drawing and safely transfusing blood had given rise to establishing blood centers, hospital transfusion services, solid organ transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, frozen blood, paternity testing, plasma fractionalization, ameliorating Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn (RH disease), autosalvage, component therapy, viral testing (hepatitis B and C, HIV), apheresis, and effective therapies for hemophilia, etc. Therefore from its humble, obscure roots of origins, the tree of transfusion medicine continues to grow and blossom increasing applications with relevance to modern medicine.