ABSTRACT
Blood is one of the most significant and frequently encountered types of physical evidence associated with the forensic investigation of death and violent crime. The identification and individualization of human bloodstains have progressed over the past 100 years since the ABO grouping system was discovered by Landsteiner in 1901. The techniques for the individualization of human blood in forensic science relied on the ABO system for many years. The development of the characterization of the red cell isoenzymes and serum genetic markers in the late 1970s dramatically increased the individualization of human blood. The work of Sir Alec Jeffreys in the development of DNA profiling in 1985 was a milestone in forensic science. Since then the techniques of DNA analysis in forensic cases has rapidly evolved through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and STR (short tandem repeat) techniques and afforded the forensic scientist a powerful tool for the individualization of human blood. Bloodstains collected from a scene of violent death where bloodshed has occurred and blood samples collected from clothing of the victim and the accused can now provide a link between an assailant and a victim to a high degree of scientific certainty.
