On his 90th birthday: "Blood is a very special juice"

Leipzig. Nine decades have passed since the first call for blood donations in Leipzig. "This anniversary is a milestone that reflects the long history and importance of our institute in medical care," says Prof Reinhard Henschler, who has headed the Institute of Transfusion Medicine (ITM) at Leipzig University Hospital (UKL) since 2018.
Leipzig played a key role in the development of the blood donation system: on 8 December 1933, the first supra-regional call for blood donations was published, a turning point that led to the establishment of the first organised blood donor register in Germany in 1934. Today, the institute is a highly relevant medical partner, particularly in the region, as it offers a special combination of clinical transfusion medicine and a comprehensive blood donation service.

The historical significance of blood in culture and medicine is already clear from quotes from Pythagoras "The soul is nourished by blood" and Hippocrates "Blood gives man consciousness". In Goethe's "Faust", the devil Mephisto speaks of blood as a "very special juice". "Blood has always been considered vital, from the ancient Egyptians to the Romans," explains Prof Henschler.

The first attempts at actual blood transfusions, preceded by the discovery of the human bloodstream by William Harvey in 1628, were made from 1660 onwards from animals to humans. Although most patients did not survive the procedure, these experiments had a significant impact over the next few centuries. "In 1825, the English obstetrician James Blundell successfully transfused human blood to a woman in labour for the first time. Nevertheless, human-to-human blood transfusions remained a gamble until Karl Landsteiner discovered the blood groups in 1901," says Reinhard Henschler.

On 8 December 1933, the first appeal for men between the ages of 21 and 50 to donate blood appeared in the Leipzig daily newspaper. The Leipzig university professor of internal medicine, Paul Morawitz, had entrusted his assistant Dr Karl Adolf Seggel with the task of setting up a donor registry for Leipzig at St Jacob's Hospital in Johannisallee 32. "The aim of this registry was to develop criteria for donor suitability and to search for and find suitable donors. Until then, donors were mainly recruited from among hospital staff," says Prof. Henschler, describing the beginnings of organised blood donation in Leipzig. Three years later, 530 blood donors had already been registered and 1000 successful transfusions had been carried out. From 1941, women were also allowed to donate blood. 

In 1962, the Leipzig District Blood Donor Centre was rebuilt in Delitzscher Straße in Leipzig. The development of blood component therapy, which gradually replaced whole blood transfusion, and mechanised blood donation were major advances. "The resource of blood could now be utilised more effectively by only transfusing patients with the blood components they needed for their recovery," explains Reinhard Henschler. After the political change in 1991, it merged with the university's regional blood donation service to form the Institute of Transfusion Medicine (ITM) at Leipzig University. In 2002, the ITM gained its independence under the umbrella of the UKL. "Since 2013, the institute's headquarters have once again been located on the UKL site at Johannisallee 32 - in the building where it all began 90 years ago in Leipzig with the first call for blood donations," says Prof Reinhard Henschler proudly.

Internally and externally: Today, the ITM is a competent and reliable partner 

The institute currently offers a special combination of clinical transfusion medicine and a comprehensive blood donation service. "With around 20,000 active blood donors and over 25,000 transfusions every year, we are an indispensable part of medical care," explains Prof Henschler. The production of special preparations and the performance of complex therapies such as intrauterine transfusions - i.e. the transfusion of donor blood while the patient is still in the womb - or plasma exchange are particular strengths of the institute. "These highly specialised therapies save lives and are an example of our ongoing innovation," emphasises Henschler. The transfusion physician is proud of his institute's work and the successful combination of traditional blood donation services and clinical transfusion medicine. Henschler is also focussing on expanding research activities at the institute and intensifying collaboration with the fields of haematology and oncology, immunology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Immunology and Cell Therapy (IZI). The ITM is involved in the production of cell therapeutics for proven and innovative therapies in the field of cell transplants.

The most important task, however, is and remains the blood supply, as the institute covers the entire needs of Leipzig University Hospital and part of the region through its own blood donations. One of the biggest challenges is obvious: "We lack young donors. All over Germany, donation services have been registering a noticeable decline in the willingness to donate for several years. We here in Leipzig are also increasingly noticing this. What's more, we have to say goodbye to deserving blood donors every day who we can no longer allow to donate for health reasons." It is therefore important to reach potential blood donors with special events, advertising campaigns and, above all, presence on social media channels, says Reinhard Henschler. The blood bank organises a number of annual events, events for specific occasions and competitions - and since the last World Blood Donor Day on 14 June, the traditional blood donation service has also had its own Instagram channel. The current anniversary campaign, which can currently be seen in the cityscape of Leipzig to mark its 90th birthday, is playing its part in increasing the visibility of the blood bank. "We are proud of our history and look forward to continuing to make an important contribution to medical care at the UKL and other hospitals in the region in the future," concludes Henschler.

Source: Press release Leipzig University Hospital from 07 December 2023