Transfusion medicine in the new millennium

Blood is a tissue like all other tissues, however, it has always had a special meaning for man. Blood used to be attributed characteristics of the man whose body it was circulating through. Attempts were made to influence the person's character, properties, or disease, such as strength, old age and illness, by the bloodletting or blood administration. Blood was for centuries considered an elixir of life, and was ascribed various meanings at different times, e.g., mystic, religious, symbolic, racial, patriotic, biological, medical, scientific, industrial, and economic. Nowadays, the meaning of blood is most pronounced in the science, medicine, and economy.