In Chicago, in nineteen thirty-seven,
Doctor Bernard Fantus had a thought,
When someone needed blood in a rush,
The giver had to come right then and there,
So he kept the blood in cold glass bottles,
With citrate so it would not clot,
Inside a fridge at Cook County Hospital,
Kept cold, so it was ready on the spot.
It's the blood bank, the blood bank,
You put some in, you take some out,
No vampires make withdrawals here,
It's the blood bank, ready to go.
He called it a bank, it worked like one,
But blood could only keep about a week,
With Landsteiner's blood types, they matched each one,
Soon blood banks opened all across the land,
It's the blood bank, the blood bank,
You put some in, you take some out,
No vampires make withdrawals here,
A vampire knocked upon the door,
The nurse just smiled and shook her head,
And sent him flapping back.
Today, kind grown-ups roll their sleeves,
And give a little blood to share,
It's kept cold in the blood bank,
Ready when someone needs it there.
It's the blood bank, the blood bank,
You put some in, you take some out,
No vampires make withdrawals here,
The blood bank, open day and night.
