Contribution: Doctor who pioneered America’s first large-scale blood bank
Age: 45 (1904 - 1950)
Mini Bio:
In the late 1930s, Dr. Charles Drew invented a way to preserve blood plasma, allowing it to be stored and shipped for blood transfusions. Until Charles’s discoveries, blood was perishable and not fit for use after about a week. He became the leading expert on storing blood. Charles’s work was even more important during World War II. Before the United States entered the war, he oversaw blood banks to help British soldiers who were wounded. In 1941, Charles became the medical director of the American Red Cross National Blood Donor Service. He organized the collection of blood donations to help American troops. It was the first mass blood-collection program of its kind.
- Charles was an excellent athlete and was once ranked among the five best hurdlers in the United States and almost went to the Olympics.
- During World War II, the U.S. Armed Forces still kept blood from black and white donors separate. Charles spoke out against this practice and the ignorance behind it.
- When the policy wasn’t changed, Charles resigned. He returned to teaching at Howard University, where he was an influential teacher and role model.
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