CHARLES DREW By Elizabeth DeBord and Louella Fields

COLLEGE MAN Drew went to about 3 different colleges. When he was studying at Columbia in the late

30’s he started researching the properties and preservation of blood plasma.

Soon he found efficient ways to process and store blood plasma.

Thus blood banks were born!

TIMELINE

Drew was born June 3, 1904 in Washington, D.C.

1939 Drew married Minnie Lenore Robbins and had 4 kids together

1940 he finished his thesis “Banked Blood: A study in blood preservation

1941 Drew appointed supervisor of Blood for Britain

1950 he died April 1 in a car crash

COLLEGE ALLSTAR When Drew was younger it didn’t really look

like he was going to be a doctor. At Dunbar he was a four letter-man. When he attended Amherst College he was a

star athlete, all-American half-back, and captain of his college football team.

REVOLUTION OF THE BLOOD BANK Drew was the first person to make

the blood bank. His introduction of a system for the

storing of blood plasma revolutionized the medical profession.

Drew first used his system during World War II.

He organized the world's first blood bank project  in 1940 – “Blood for Britain”.

REVOLUTION OF THE BLOOD BANK… CONT.He also established the American

Red Cross Blood Bank, of which he was the first director.

Due to his research on how to store blood many people who would’ve died in WWII didn’t.

SURGEON TRAINING In 1941, Dr. Drew returned to Howard

University, where he gained new interest, particularly in the training of young surgeons.

He had spent a total of seven months in the two blood projects, yet in this very brief but productive period of his professional life.

He made a contribution to what was to become a successful World War II blood procurement effort.

RED CROSS The experience gained through Dr. Drew's

efforts at the Red Cross New York center proved invaluable.

During World War II, 35 blood bank centers were in being used.

By war's end, millions of donations had been received by the Red Cross, donations that made the saving of thousands of lives of wounded U.S. servicemen lives possible.

DREW’S IMPACT… The blood bank allowed blood transfusion to

be more efficient when it came down to which blood type is which.

Soldiers during World War II were saved, both white and black.

THE LOSS OF A GENIUS Mankind suffered a great loss in 1950. At the age of 45, Dr. Drew was killed in an car

accident while driving to a scientific conference.

His pioneering medical work has endured. Many lives have been saved because of his

genius at turning basic biological research into practical production methods is impossible to figure out.

CHARLES DREW…

Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science Located in Los Angeles, California

There he is, teaching young surgeons

Drew

SOURCES http://www.biography.com/people/charles-drew-9279094

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/drew.htm