Dr. Charles R. Drew
Blood Plasma & Medical Research
1904 - 1950
- Born on June 3, 1904 in Washington, DC.
- Attended Amherst College where he was an All-American football player.
- In 1926, Drew accepted the position of Biology Instructor and Athletic Director at Morgan College in Baltimore, MD where he developed
championship level teams in basketball and football.
- Attended and graduated from medical school at McGill University and did residency at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, DC.
- In 1940, Drew received a Doctorate of Medical Science from Columbia University in New York, where he wrote dissertation on the condition of
blood stored in blood banks.
- Dr. Drew discovered that blood plasma could be preserved and stored longer than the whole blood. he supervised the Blood-plasma Division
of New York City's Blood Transfusion Association.
- In 1942, Dr. Drew became head of Howard University's Department of Surgery and Chief Surgeon at Freedman's Hospital in Washington,
DC.
- In 1944, Dr. Drew became Chief of Staff and Medical Director at Freedman's Hospital, a position he held until 1948.
- Dr. Drew received the NAACP Spingarn Award in 1944 to commemorate his achievements in the field of medicine and medical research.
- His blood plasma preservation and storage methods paved the way for doctors all over the world to perform hundreds of thousands of
successful heart operations and transplants and other types of surgery.
- On April 1, 1950, Dr. Drew was killed in an automobile accident while on his way to a medical conference.