Charles Richard Drew

Dr. Charles Richard Drew as born on June 3, 1904 in Washington D.C. Dr. Drew was a very smart African-American doctor (a surgeon, teacher and researcher--scientist). During World War II there were many injuries to the soldiers and it became important for someone to discover a way to save blood so that soldiers lives could be saved. Before his discoveries, blood could only be stored for 7 days before it began to spoil. Dr. Drew invented ways to store and ship blood plasma. Plasma is blood without cells and the plasma could be dried and stored for a longer period of time. When it came time to use the plasma, water would be added and then transfused into the patient. It was Dr. Drew's experiments that saved lives during the war and his discoveries have helped in saving lives today. In February, 1941, Dr. Drew was chosen to become the person in charge of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank. He was in charge of all the blood donated to be used by the U.S. Army and Navy. But, Dr. Drew quit his job when it was decided by the government that blood donated by white people would not be mixed with blood from black people who had donated blood. Dr. Drew died in a car accident on April 1, 1950.

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