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If you put one person\\u2019s blood into another person , sometimes it\\u2019s fine and sometimes it\\u2019s a death sentence.
French physician Jean-Baptiste Denis discovered this when he performed the first blood transfusion back in 1667. He put the blood of a lamb into a 15-year boy. The teenager survived but Denis\\u2019s third attempt killed the patient and led to a murder charge.
In 1900, Austrian doctor Karl Landsteiner discovered the reason for this lottery \\u2013 blood types. The red blood cells in our bodies are decorated with different marker molecules called antigens. These define us as A, B, AB or O blood type. And this is just one of 38 different systems for classifying our blood. CrowdScience listeners have discovered that we aren\\u2019t the only animal with blood types and want to know more.
Dogs have 12 different blood groups, so how do they cope when they need a transfusion? CrowdScience meets some very good dogs who donate a pint to the pet blood bank in return for a toy and a treat. Each pint saving up to 4 other dogs\\u2019 lives.
We also hear how examining our blood types can tell us more about our links to our ape-like cousins and how the human species spread around the world. And what about the future of blood types \\u2013 can we use science, and animal blood to get around the problems of transfusions?
Producer and Presenter: Marnie Chesterton\\nPhoto: Red Blood Cells. Credit: Getty Images
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