In 1935, Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr. , successfully used a heart-lung machine for extracorporeal circulation of a cat (i.e., all the heart and lung functions are handled by the machine while surgery is performed). Dr. Gibbon uses this method successfully on a human in 1953. It is now commonly used in open heart surgeries throughout the US.
In 1937, an American Doctor Bernard Fantus started the first blood bank at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He used a 2% solution of sodium citrate to preserve the blood. He then refrigerated the blood and discovered that it lasted ten days, where before blood had to be used immediately.
In 1945 the first vaccine for influenza (commonly known as the flu) was created. This vaccine has been modified to defend against other strands of the influenza virus such as the swine flu, and it is still used today.
In 1952 the first pace maker was created by Paul Zoll to cure patients with an irregular heartbeat.
In the 1960s and 1970s, many new vaccines were found, that we still use today. An oral vaccine for Polio was created as an alternative to an injectable vaccine. In 1964, a vaccine for measles was released, and in 1967 a vaccine for mumps was also released for prevention of these deadly diseases. In 1974, the chicken pox vaccine as we know it was created. In 1977 a pneumonia vaccine was created, and soon to follow in 1978 a vaccine for meningitis was also released. Vaccines for hepatitis A and B were also founded in the later years of this century(1980s).