02/24/2022
We continue to celebrate by highlighting black leaders who made an indelible mark on the lives of Americans. Follow along as we share their remarkable stories and honor their important role in our history.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew, 1904—1950
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was an acclaimed African American surgeon who pioneered the ways to process and store blood plasma in blood banks, ultimately being named, “father of the blood bank.”
Dr. Drew discovered how to store and preserve blood plasma, or blood without cells, so that plasma could be dried and reconstituted. By separating plasma from oxygen carrying red cells, he significantly improved the shelf-life. As the leader in the field, he headed the U.S.’ Blood for Britain Project (BFB), an effort to transport much needed blood and plasma to Great Britain during World War II and went on to become Medical Director of the National Blood Donor Service for the American Red Cross. Among his innovations were refrigerated mobile blood donation trucks, later called “bloodmobiles.” He resigned from the Red Cross after a ruling that segregated blood by race and returned to Howard University as chair of the Department of Surgery where he made it his mission to improve the field of medicine for black physicians. Dr. Drew even went to be the first-ever examiner for the American Board of Surgery. His accomplishments were vast, having an immeasurable impact on modern medicine.