1917

Oswald Robertson, Canadian surgeon serving in France with U.S. Army, but sent to British 3rd Army Casualty Clearing Station to consult on blood transfusion. There he developed plans for first blood bank, viz, storage of syphilis-tested and then citrated (to prevent coagulation) blood, to which dextrose was later added. Stored blood was drawn only from universal type O donors and stored in one-liter glass bottles. The bottles were shipped in converted ammunition boxes, with ice and sawdust packed around them. Although the blood could only be stored a short time, it allowed blood to be collected in advance of need (Pierce; Stansbury & Hess).