Sergei Yudin (1891-1954) and the cadaveric blood transfusion. It’s repercussions in Western Europe

Abstract

This work aims to rescue from oblivion the history of cadaveric blood transfusions and the figure of its main protagonist, Sergei Yudin. For this reason, an extensive review of bibliographic sources in Russian and other languages is carried out to describe Yudin’s life trajectory and his scientific work. The idea originated from Vladimir Shamov’s transfusion experiences in dogs and started clinically in 1930 by Yudin at the Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Medicine in Moscow, where human cadaveric blood transfusions were performed on a regular basis for four decades. The conservation of this blood for several weeks allowed the creation of the first blood bank in the world and was the starting point of clinical transplants, considering that blood is a special tissue. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Yudin traveled to Germany, France, Spain and England and enjoyed great prestige in international medical circles, including Catalan and Spanish. The course of his life was arduous, going from being the most prestigious surgeon in the Soviet Union to ostracism after being imprisoned in 1948 and later exiled to Siberia.