Dr. Charles
Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 - April 1, 1950) was an American medical
doctor and surgeon who started the idea of a
blood bank and a system for the long-term preservation of blood
plasma (he found that plasma kept longer than whole blood). His ideas
revolutionized the medical profession and have saved many, many lives.
Dr. Drew set up and operated the blood
plasma bank at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, NY. Drew's
project was the model for the Red Cross' system of blood banks, of
which he became the first director. Drew resigned his position as
director after the US War Department issued a directive stating that
blood taken from white donors should not be mixed with blood taken
from black donors. Dr. Drew strongly objected, and stated "the blood
of individual human beings may differ by blood groupings, but there is
absolutely no scientific basis to indicate any difference in human
blood from race to race." Dr. Drew also formed Britain's blood bank
system.
Dr. Drew died on April 1, 1950, after a
car accident in in rural North Carolina. Although there is a legend
that he died as a result of being denied a blood transfusion and
medical care from a "whites-only" hospital, Dr. Drew got immediate
medical attention, in part from the other doctors (his friends) who
were in the car accident with him (but were less severely injured).
Dr. Drew was admitted to a mixed-race hospital, but died after being
treated for massive internal injuries. A U.S. postage stamp was issued
in 1981 to honour Dr. Drew.
