Dr. Charles Drew
(1904-1950)
Surgeon —Pioneer in Blood Plasma
Dr. Charles Drew was the man who figured
out a way to store blood so that it would be
ready immediately when needed. It took years
of research to solve the problem of preserving
blood after it was donated.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1904 Charles
Drew took every opportunity to learn that
came his way. He graduated from Amherst
College in 1926. He received his M.D. degree
from McGill Medical College in 1933 and was
awarded a fellowship to Columbia University
Medical School in 1935.
After many months of research, he found
that blood could be stored longer if it were put
in a refrigerator at a certain temperature.
Handling blood more gently immediately after
it was collected made it last longer.
One day, Dr. Drew looked carefully at a
container of seven-day old blood. The dark
layer of red cells was on the bottom of the
bottle; the lighter colored liquid called plasma
t ws on top. He decided that plasma could
solve the problem of storing and reusing hu
man blood.
On April 1st 1950, Charles Drew was on his
way to an annual conference of doctors at
Tuskegee, Alabama. His car overturned in an
accident near Burlington, North Carolina. He
was rushed, bleeding, to the nearest hospital.
They were "s o rry ," but they could not take
Dr. Drew. The hospital was for whites only.
By the time he was taken to another hospital,
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was dead.
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Page 2 Portland Observer, February 25, 1982 Section II
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