Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 62-63. (Budapest, 1971)
KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Rex-Kiss Béla—Szabó Sándor: A magyar vércsoport-szerológia 50 esztendeje
Summary The first blood group testings in Hungary were performed in 1969 in Debrecen by Frigyes Verzár, professor of pathological physiology at the University of Debrecen, and his assistant, Oszkár Weszeczky, They published their findings in 1920 and 1921 in the Biochemische Zeitschrift, which won universal recognition. They found that differences in the distribution of the blood groups, which are characteristic of the various peoples, form such a distinctive feature, that on their basis it is possible to recognize the various populations even centuries after their separation from the original tribe, irrespective of the location of their settlement. The first MN blood group testings were performed in 1936 by Lenart, while the first Rh testings in 1946 by Neubauer and Backhausz. Population examinations started on a larger scale after 1946, first of all by Nemeskéri and Backhausz. Investigations were made into the correlation between blood groups and diseases first by W eitzner in 1925, followed by Kubányi in 1926. The activities of Lenart deserve special mention. It was he who, in connection with the pathogenesis of icterus neonatum, called attention to the possibility of iso-immunization and its role in the development of non-physiological icterus neonatum. The first blood group testings in connection with blood transfusion were carried out by Kubányi, who published several articles in this field from 1924 on. The first Hungarian book on transfusion was written by him in 1926, which appeared in 1928 in German, too. Experimental blood group serological examinations were started by Rex-Kiss in 1942. These examinations and researches, connected with blood transfusion, took a vigorous course in 1949 when the National Blood Transfusion Service and its branches were established on the initiative of Rex-Kiss, according to his plans. To-day these are the basic institutes of transfusionserology in Hungary. The first Hungarian book on blood groups was written by Rex-Kiss in 1943, the second by Horváth in 1959. The first genetical (forensic medical) blood group testings in Hungary were made relatively late. The results of blood groups test were accepted to form evidence in affiliation suits in 1947. The medical jurisprudence institutes of the medical universities of Budapest and Pécs were authorized to carry out the examinations.
