Before Karl Landsteiner discovered the existence of blood types in 1900, blood transfusion was a life-threatening procedure. After his discovery (blood types A, B and O), it quickly became an important practice, so that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930.

Blood transfusion is now an ordinary medical procedure, on which many depend. All that blood comes from donors who donate their blood voluntarily.

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In the Netherlands, Sanquin organises the blood flow of this donor blood. To do this in the best possible way, Sanquin also does a lot of research — applied and fundamental. That is also necessary, because blood is a special substance. For example, many more different blood types have been discovered today than just Landsteiner's: up to 380 are known!

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Gerald de Haan is leading the research at Sanquin and he will talk about it in the Science Café. He has a background in stem cell research and is therefore good at talking about a new development: research into growing blood cells from stem cells. Will this make the blood donor obsolete in the long run?

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Live music is provided by Martin van de Vrught and moderator is Almar Otten.

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