Charles R. Drew

Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American physician, 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. This allowed medics to save thousands of lives of the Allied forces. The research and development aspect of his blood storage work is disputed. As the most prominent African-American in the field, Drew protested against the practice of racial segregation in the donation of blood, as it lacked scientific foundation, and resigned his position with American Red Cross, which maintained the policy until 1950.

Early life and education

Drew was born in 1904 into an African-American middle-class family in Washington, D.C. His father, Richard, was a carpet layer and his mother, Nora Burrell, was a teacher. Drew and his siblings grew up in D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood and he graduated from Dunbar High School in 1922. Drew won an athletics scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1926. An outstanding athlete at Amherst, Drew also joined Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He attended medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, receiving his MDCM in 1933, and ranked 2nd in his class of 127 students. A few years later, Drew did graduate work at Columbia University, where he earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree, becoming the first African American to do so.

Academic career

In 1941, Drew's distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first African-American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. Drew had a lengthy research and teaching career and became a chief surgeon.

Blood plasma for British project

In late 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II and just after earning his doctorate, Drew was recruited by John Scudder to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. He was to collect, test, and transport large quantities of blood plasma for distribution in the United Kingdom. Drew went to New York City as the medical director of the United States' Blood for Britain project. The Blood for Britain project was a project to aid British soldiers and civilians by giving U.S. blood to the United Kingdom.

Drew started what would be later known as bloodmobiles, which were trucks containing refrigerators of stored blood; this allowed for greater mobility in terms of transportation as well as prospective donations.

Drew created a central location for the blood collection process where donors could go to give blood. He made sure all blood plasma was tested before it was shipped out. He ensured that only skilled personnel handled blood plasma to avoid the possibility of contamination. The Blood for Britain program operated successfully for five months, with total collections of almost 15,000 people donating blood, and with over 5,500 vials of blood plasma. As a result, the Blood Transfusion Betterment Association applauded Drew for his work. Out of his work came the American Red Cross Blood Bank.

Personal life

In 1939, Drew married Minnie Lenore Robbins, a professor of home economics at Spelman College whom he had met earlier that year. They had three daughters and a son. His daughter Charlene Drew Jarvis was the president of Southeastern University from 1996 until 2009.

Death

Beginning in 1939, Drew traveled to Tuskegee, Alabama to attend the annual free clinic at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital. For the 1950 Tuskegee clinic, Drew drove along with three other black physicians. Drew was driving around 8 a.m. on April 1. Still fatigued from spending the night before in the operating theater, he lost control of the vehicle. After careening into a field, the car somersaulted three times. The three other physicians suffered minor injuries. Drew was trapped with serious wounds; his foot had become wedged beneath the brake pedal. When reached by emergency technicians, he was in shock and barely alive due to severe leg injuries.

Drew was taken to Alamance General Hospital in Burlington, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead a half hour after he first received medical attention. Drew's funeral was held on April 5, 1950, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

Despite a popular myth to the contrary, once repeated on an episode of the hit TV series M*A*S*H, Drew's death was not the result of his having been refused a blood transfusion because of his skin color. This myth spread very quickly since during his time it was very common for blacks to be refused treatment because there weren't enough "Negro beds" available or the nearest hospital only serviced whites. In truth, according to one of the passengers in Drew's car, John Ford, Drew's injuries were so severe that virtually nothing could have been done to save him. Ford added that a blood transfusion might have actually killed Drew sooner.

Legacy

• In 1981, the United States Postal Service issued a 35¢ postage stamp in its Great Americans series to honor Drew.
• Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge, spanning the Edgewood and Brookland neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.
• USNS Charles Drew, a dry cargo ship of the United States Navy
• Parc Charles-Drew, in Le Sud-Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Drew as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans.

Numerous schools and health-related facilities, as well as other institutions, have been named in honor of Dr. Drew.

Medical and higher education

• In 1966, the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School was incorporated in California and was named in his honor. This later became the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.
• Charles Drew Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
• Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
• Charles Drew Health Foundation, East Palo Alto, California, 1960s-2000, was the community's only clinic for decades.
• Charles Drew Community Health Center, located in Burlington, NC near the site of the old Alamance County hospital.
• Charles Drew Pre-Health Society, University of Rochester
• Charles R Drew Wellness Center in Columbia, South Carolina
• Charles R. Drew Hall, an all-male freshman dorm at Howard University, Washington D.C.
• Charles Drew Memorial Cultural House, residence at Amherst College, his alma mater

K-12 schools

• Charles R. Drew Middle School & Magnet school for the gifted, opened 1966 Los Angeles Unified School District https://drew-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com/
• Charles R. Drew Middle School Lincoln Alabama operated by Talladega County Schools
• Charles R. Drew Junior High School, Detroit, Michigan
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School, Buffalo, NY
• Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Miami Beach and Pompano Beach, Florida
• Bluford Drew Jemison S.T.E.M Academy, Baltimore(), and Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Colesville, Maryland
• Charles Drew Elementary School, Washington, DC
• Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Arlington, Virginia
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School, New Orleans, LA
• Charles R. Drew Charter School opened in August 2000 as the first charter school in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the setting for the 2015 Movie Project Almanac.
• Dr. Charles Drew Academy, Ecorse, MI
• Charles R. Drew Intermediate School, Crosby, Texas
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School, San Francisco, Ca.

• Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge at The Historical Marker Database.
• Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-963-9
• Charles Drew Health Center
• About Dr. Charles R. Drew, Charles Drew Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory, Michigan State University
• Charles R. Drew Wellness Center Archived June 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., City of Columbia.
• Charles R. Drew Hall, Howard University
• Amherst College page on the house Archived August 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
• Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School Archived June 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., Broward County Public Schools
• "Frequently Asked Questions". Bluford Drew Jemison S.T.E.M. Academy. Retrieved March 22, 2013. 
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools