Blood type namely group A, group B, and group C. He defined that group A blood agglutinates with group B, but never with its own type. Similarly, group B blood agglutinates with group A. Group C blood is different in that it agglutinates with both A and B. This was the discovery of blood groups for which Landsteiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930. (C was later renamed to O after the German "Ohne", meaning without, or zero, or null.) The group AB was discovered a year later by Landsteiner's students Adriano Sturli, and Alfred von Decastello.
Blood transfusion by using blood type testing to identify a less scarce alternative. Jehovah's Witnesses object to blood transfusions due to their belief that blood is sacred. Although there are clinical situations where transfusion with red blood cells is the only clinically appropriate option, clinicians look at whether alternatives as feasible. This can be due to several reasons, such as patient safety, economic burden or scarcity of blood. Guidelines recommend blood transfusions should be reserved for patients with or at risk of cardiovascular instability due to the degree of their anaemia. In these cases parenteral iron is recommended. Thus far, there are