Charles R. Drew

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Lore & Background

Drew was born in 1904 into an African-American middle-class family in Washington, D.C. He attended Dunbar High School, graduating in 1922, and won an athletics scholarship to Amherst College, graduating in 1926. After two years (1926–1928) as a professor of chemistry and biology, the first athletic director, and football coach at Morgan College in Baltimore, he attended McGill University's medical school in Montreal. There he worked with John Beattie on research regarding potential correlations between blood transfusions and shock therapy. He ranked second in his graduating class of 127 students and received the Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree in 1933. He later earned his Doctor of Science in Surgery at Columbia University in 1940, becoming the first African American to do so, with a thesis titled 'Banked Blood: A Study on Blood Preservation' that demonstrated plasma could be preserved two months longer through de-liquification. In late 1940, Drew was recruited by John Scudder to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. As medical director of the United States' Blood for Britain project in New York City, he created a central location for blood collection, ensured all plasma was tested before shipping, and required only skilled personnel to handle it. The program operated successfully for five months, with total collections of almost 15,000 people donating blood and over 5,500 vials of blood plasma. In February 1941, he became director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank, where he invented what would later be known as bloodmobiles—mobile donation stations that could collect blood and refrigerate it. The blood bank supplied blood to the U.S. Army and Navy, who initially rejected the blood of African-Americans and later accepted it only if stored separately from that of Whites. Drew objected and resigned in 1942. He returned to Freedman's Hospital and Howard University as a surgeon and professor of medicine in 1942. In 1941, he became the first African-American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.

Reader's Guide

Charles R. Drew's significance lies in his practical contributions to blood storage and transfusion during World War II, which directly saved thousands of Allied forces' lives. His work on the Blood for Britain project—collecting almost 15,000 donations and over 5,500 vials of plasma—and as director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank established standards for large-scale blood collection, testing, and transport, including the invention of mobile donation stations. Beyond his technical achievements, Drew's principled stand against racial segregation in blood donation—resigning his Red Cross position in 1942—highlighted the lack of scientific foundation for such policies. His legacy includes being the first African American to earn a Doctor of Science in Medicine from Columbia University in 1940 and the first African-American surgeon on the American Board of Surgery in 1941. The American Red Cross maintained its segregation policy until 1950, the year of Drew's death. His career exemplifies both scientific innovation and ethical conviction in the face of institutional discrimination.

Did You Know?

• Drew ranked second in his graduating class of 127 students at McGill University's medical school.
• He became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Science in Medicine degree at Columbia University in 1940.
• Drew invented what later became known as bloodmobiles—mobile donation stations that could collect and refrigerate blood.
• The Blood for Britain program collected almost 15,000 blood donations and over 5,500 vials of plasma over five months.
• Drew was never accepted for membership in the American Medical Association because the District of Columbia chapter allowed only white doctors to join.