Category ""
ADVERTISING
Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II.
Charles R. Drew was an African American surgeon and researcher who pioneered in the field of blood transfusions and blood storage. Living through a time of extreme racial prejudice, he protested against blood donor segregation and campaigned for better treatment of black doctors.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew, a pioneering figure in modern blood banking and 20th-century medicine, revolutionized blood donation and storage processes, fundamentally shaping the field as we know it today.
This barrier-breaking African American doctor and surgeon earned the title “father of the blood bank” for his lifesaving innovations in the use and preservation of blood plasma.
At age 37, Charles Drew was at the height of his career, and yet he faced the decision to leave it all behind. He was Assistant Director of the National Blood Bank, jointly run by the American Red Cross and the National Research Council.
Charles Drew was an African American surgeon who pioneered methods of storing blood plasma for transfusion and organized the first large-scale blood bank in the U.S.
The number of people who owe their lives to Dr. Charles R. Drew is beyond measure. The African American physician and surgeon pioneered the preservation of blood and plasma at the start of World War II and remained a leading authority on the subject for the rest of his career.
Dr. Drew’s success in improving blood storage led to his appointment as the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank in 1942. He was given the responsibility of organizing and overseeing the collection and distribution of blood across the United States.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was a Black surgeon, professor, and blood transfusion and blood bank pioneer whose work has saved innumerable lives globally. Born in Washington, DC, in 1904, his father, Richard, was a carpet layer and his mother, Nora (née Burrell), trained as a teacher.
Blood banking was made possible by Dr. Charles Drew. Dr. Drew was the first African-American to receive a Doctor of Medical Science degree from Columbia University and worked tirelessly in the area of blood transfusions and preservation for several years.