The Cold War Blood Tattoo (51)

In 1951, a small pilot program was launched in Indiana and Utah as a civilian defense measure to aid in the aftermath of a nuclear attack.

The idea was simple: If a bomb dropped, people would need medical attention.

They would need a fast and accurate system to help administer blood transfusions. Blood type and Rh factor (a newly discovered slightly important detail in the world of blood transfusions) needed to be readily available to emergency personnel.

You can lose a paper ID card. Dog tags can come off your neck. Limbs can easily get blown off. Blood typing needed a universal and permanent placement. They had just the ticket.

A tattoo under the arm, on the rib cage, and children were the guinea pigs for this test program...

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Now back to today’s episode where I introduce our two guests…

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