In 1881, doctor William Halsted rushed to help his sister Minnie, who was hemorrhaging after childbirth. He quickly inserted a needle into his arm, withdrew his own blood, and transferred it to her. After a few uncertain minutes, she began to recover.
Di tahun 1881, dokter William Halsted bergegas menolong adiknya Minnie, yang mengalami pendarahan saat melahirkan. Dengan cepat ia memasukkan jarum ke lengannya, mengambil darah, disalurkannya ke sang adik. Setelah beberapa saat, ia mulai pulih.
Halsted didn’t know how lucky they’d gotten. His transfusion only worked because he and his sister happened to have the same blood type— something that isn’t guaranteed, even among close relatives.
Halsted sangat beruntung. Transfusinya berhasil karena dia dan sang adik memiliki golongan darah yang sama--- sesuatu yang belum pasti terjadi, sekalipun pada saudara dekat.
Blood types hadn’t been discovered by Halsted’s time, though people had been experimenting with transfusions for centuries— mostly unsuccessfully. In 1667, a French physician named Jean-Baptiste Denis became the first to try the technique on a human. Denis transfused sheep’s blood into Antoine Mauroy, a man likely suffering from psychosis, in the hopes that it would reduce his symptoms. Afterward, Mauroy was in good spirits. But after a second transfusion, he developed a fever, severe pain in his lower back, intense burning in his arm, and he urinated a thick, black liquid.
saat itu Haldsted belum mengetahui apa itu golongan darah, walau banyak yang sudah bereksperimen dengan transfusi darah selama berabad-abad kebanyakan mereka gagal. Pada tahun 1667, dokter Prancis bernama Jean-Baptiste Denis adalah yang pertama melakukan transfusi darah pada manusia. Denis memasukkan darah domba pada tubuh Antoine Mauroy, seorang penderita semacam sakit jiwa, berharap bisa mengurangi gejalanya. Kemudian, Mauroy seolah sehat. Namun setelah transfusi kedua, ia mulai demam, sakit hebat di punggung bagian bawah, lengan terasa terbakar, serta kencing yang kental dan hitam.
Though nobody knew it at the time, these were the signs of a dangerous immune response unfolding inside his body. This immune response starts with the production of proteins called antibodies, which distinguish the body’s own cells from intruders. They do so by recognizing the foreign proteins, or antigens, embedded in an intruder’s cell membrane. Antibodies latch onto the antigens, signaling other immune cells to attack and destroy the foreign cells.
Walau tak ada yang tahu saat itu, namun sistem pertahanan tubuhnya merespons sebagai tanda bahaya. Respons pertahanan tubuh dalam bentuk memproduksi protein bernama antibodi, yang dapat mengenali adanya sel-sel asing dari luar badan. Terjadi dengan cara mengenali protein asing, atau antigen, yang terdapat pada membran sel asing tersebut. Antibodi menempel pada antigen, meminta sel imun lain menyerang dan menghancurkan sel asing tersebut.
The destroyed cells are flushed from the body in urine. In extreme cases, the massive break down of cells causes clots in the bloodstream that disrupt the flow of blood to vital organs, overload the kidneys, and cause organ failure. Fortunately, Denis’s patient survived the transfusion. But, after other cross-species transfusions proved fatal, the procedure was outlawed across Europe, falling out of favor for several centuries.
Sel-sel hancur tersebut dikeluarkan tubuh lewat air kencing. Dalam kondisi parah, sel hancur dalam jumlah banyak menyumbat aliran darah dan mengganggu aliran darah pada organ vital, memenuhi ginjal, dan menyebabkan kegagalan fungsi organ. Untungnya, pasien Denis mampu bertahan. Namun, saat tranfusi antar-spesies terbukti berbahaya, proses transfusi dilarang di seluruh Eropa, hingga berabad-abad lamanya.
It wasn’t until 1901 that Austrian physician Karl Landsteiner discovered blood types, the crucial step in the success of human to human blood transfusions. He noticed that when different types were mixed together, they formed clots. This happens when antibodies latch on to cells with foreign antigens, causing blood cells to clump together. But if the donor cells are the same blood type as the recipient’s cells, the donor cells won’t be flagged for destruction, and won’t form clumps.
Hingga pada tahun 1901 dokter Austria bernama Karl Landsteiner menemukan golongan darah, penentu suksesnya transfusi darah antar-manusia. Dia mengamati golongan darah yang berbeda jika disatukan akan menggumpal. Hal ini terjadi saat antibodi menempel pada antigen sel asing. membuat sel darah saling menggumpal. Saat sel dari donor bergolongan sama dengan golongan darah penerima, sel darah tidak akan dianggap ancaman, dan tidak akan menggumpal.
By 1907, doctors were mixing together small amounts of blood before transfusing it. If there were no clumps, the types were a match. This enabled them to save thousands of lives, laying the foundation for modern transfusions.
Hingga tahun 1907, dokter mencampur sedikit sampel darah sebelum proses transfusi. jika tidak menggumpal, berarti jenis darahnya sama. Memungkinkan mereka bisa menyelamatkan ribuan nyawa, sebagai dasar pengetahuan transfusi modern.
Up to this point, all transfusions had occurred in real time, directly between two individuals. That’s because blood begins to clot almost immediately after coming into contact with air— a defense mechanism to prevent excessive blood loss after injury.
Di titik ini, transfusi dilakukan pada satu waktu, secara langsung antar individu. Karena darah bisa segera menggumpal saat terpapar dengan udara--- upaya melindungi dari pendarahan saat terjadi luka.
In 1914, researchers discovered that the chemical sodium citrate stopped blood coagulating by removing the calcium necessary for clot formation. Citrated blood could be stored for later use— the first step in making large scale blood transfusions possible. In 1916, a pair of American scientists found an even more effective anticoagulant called heparin, which works by deactivating enzymes that enable clotting. We still use heparin today.
Pada tahun 1914 peneliti menemukan bahwa penggunaan sodium sitrat mencegah pembekuan darah dengan membuang kalsium penyebab gumpalan. Dengan demikian darah dapat disimpan lebih lama--- langkah pertama yang memungkinkan transfusi darah skala lebih besar. Pada 1916, dua peneliti Amerika menemukan anti-gumpal yang lebih efektif disebut heparin, bekerja dengan cara mematikan fungsi enzim pembeku. Heparin masih digunakan hingga sekarang.
At the same time, American and British researchers developed portable machines that could transport donor blood onto the battlefields of World War I. Combined with the newly-discovered heparin, medics safely stored and preserved liters of blood, wheeling it directly onto the battlefield to transfuse wounded soldiers.
Pada saat yang sama, Peneliti Amerika dan Inggris mengembangkan penyimpanan portabel untuk mengangkut donor darah ke medan tempur Perang Dunia I. Menggabungkan temuan baru bernama Heparin, tenaga kesehatan dapat menyimpan darah dengan banyak dan aman, diangkut langsung ke medan tempur ditransfusikan pada tentara yang terluka.
After the war, this crude portable box would become the inspiration for the modern-day blood bank, a fixture of hospitals around the world.
Setelah perang, kotak penyimpanan sederhana tersebut menjadi inspirasi untuk bank darah di era modern, di tiap-tiap rumah sakit seluruh dunia.