Back to
Black History MonthDr. Charles Drew
by Oliver
Charles Drew was born on June 3, 1904 in Washington, D.C. He was a great athlete in high school. He played football, basketball, baseball and ran track at Dunbar High School in Washington. He won won an athletic scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts. In college he was captain of his track team. He was the most valuable baseball player and the winner of the high hurdle competition. He went to McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1933, Charles became a doctor. He was interested in and did research in blood preservation. He invented a way to keep blood by refrigerating it. In 1939 he established a blood bank in New York. He earned a doctor of science in medicine from Columbia University in New York in 1940. A fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation supported his study of blood.
In 1940 Dr. Drew became medical director of the plasma project in New York and in 1941 he was made director of the American Red Cross blood bank program in the United States. At that time black people were not allowed to donate blood. Dr. Drew and others protested and was he was forced to resign his position. By 1949 finally blood was accepted from all races of people.
Dr. Drew taught at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and practiced surgery until his death. Charles Drew worked hard to inspire blacks to achieve in anyway they could. He was killed in a car accident in 1950.