The true bloody history behind a free cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit
Stevie Wonder
My Cherie Amour, one of Stevie Wonder’s greatest songs, was co-written by David Crosby, according to my pal. Is that true? – M. It’s not.
The 1969 soul classic was written by Stevie and Henry Cosby, who produced many of Wonder’s early hits such as Uptight (Everything’s Alright) and I Was Made To Love Her. He also co-wrote Smokey Robinson’s The Tears Of A Clown.
David Crosby is best known as a member of The Byrds and as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
On St George’s Day this week, I recalled that an Italian football team has the flag of St George on its crest, but can’t remember which one. – K.
That would be Serie A side, Genoa.
They were founded in 1893 and are officially the Genoa Cricket And Football Club.
The founders were British ex-pats who wanted to play the sports they enjoyed.
Genoa have won Italy’s Serie A title nine times, the last time being as long ago as season 1923-24.
I’m delighted to say that the lockdown isn’t stopping me from donating blood this week.
It’s something I really enjoy doing – I mean, they give me a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit every time, so what’s not to like? However, when I’m donating, I often wonder who discovered that we could give blood – and who the brave first recipient might have been.
Over to you, Queries Man. – C. A blood transfusion is the process of transferring a donor’s blood into a recipient’s circulation intravenously.
The idea of transferring blood began in the 17th Century. At first, there were successful experiments in transfusion between animals.
However, attempts by doctors of the day to transfuse animal blood into humans often resulted in the death of the patient.
The first was by King Louis XIV of France’s physician, in 1667. He transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-year-old boy, who survived, probably because only a small amount of blood was used.
Within 10 years, transfusing the blood of animals to humans was prohibited, because patients suffered allergic reactions.
The first human to human blood transfusion took place in 1818, however, the brave donor – and braver recipient – are unknown.
James Blundell performed the transfusion on a woman suffering a postpartum haemorrhage, the loss of blood after giving birth.
Using the patient’s husband as a donor, he extracts approximately four ounces of blood from the husband’s arm and, using a syringe, successfully transfused the patient.
By 1867, Joseph Lister discovered antiseptics to control
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visits the Edinburgh Donor Centre to support a Blood Drive Campaign in 2018
infection during transfusions, and in 1900, Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian physician, discovered the first three human blood groups.
But even then it wasn’t all plain sailing. The Contaminated Blood Scandal in the 1970s and 80s saw almost 4,000 people, most of
whom suffered from haemophilia, became infected with hepatitis C and HIV, as a result of receiving contaminated blood clotting factor products.
But blood donations really took off when donors discovered they were given tea and biscuits.