1628: William Harvey, leading physician of his day, is the first to demonstrate that blood circulates round the body.
1657: Sir Christopher Wren takes time out from designing cathedrals to inject some fluids into the circulation of animals, using equipment developed by William Harvey.
1666: In the same year that London burns, Richard Lower performs the first successful transfusion, albeit on an animal.
1667: Samuel Pepys scribbles in his notes that experiments have been taking place at the Royal Society, transfusing blood from one dog to another.
1818: Dr James Blundell conducts transfusions in cases of haemorrhages after childbirth.
1900: Dr Karl Landsteiner, a leading doctor in Vienna, discovers that blood comes in 4 main groups - A, B, AB and O - and suddenly everybody realises why they've been going wrong for the last 272 years.
1914-1918: Two major advances take place out of need to relieve the pressure caused by trying to save lives during the Great War. The first is the discovery that blood could be prevented from clotting once it's removed from the body by mixing it with sodium citrate. And like most things, they also discover that blood can last a bit longer if it's put in a fridge.
1921: The British Red Cross members all decide to give blood at Kings College Hospital, London, and so the first voluntary blood service is born.
1936: The Americans open the world's first blood bank at Cook County Hospital, Chicago.
1937: And we in Britain open our first blood bank in Ipswich.
1939: After the outbreak of war, things really kick off with four large civilian centres being set up near London and at an Army centre near Bristol.
1940: While the war rages, obviously there is a greater need for blood so the emergency medical services and the Army set up eight regional transfusion centres. And thousands of civilians do their bit for the country by donating, saving the lives of many servicemen and civilians.
1986: HIV testing is introduced.
1991: And just as importantly, testing for hepatitis C is introduced.