Dmitriy Mikhel

The history of blood transfusion in pre-World War II Russia offers one of the most attractive themes in the social history of science. This essay discusses the connection between A. A. Bogdanov's project to reconstruct society and blood transfusion, which a century ago was still one of the most revolutionary medical ideas. The essay then explores how scientific, cultural, and political contexts conditioned the development of discourse about blood transfusion during the first decade of the twentieth century. Finally, it examines the main arguments by the supporters of the new method's introduction into surgical practice, and the significance of the biomedical technology of blood transfusion for the history of political technologies for control over the population.