Father of the Blood Bank & Plasma Preservation Pioneer
June 3, 1904 - April 1, 1950
🇺🇸 United States Medicine & HealthcareCharles Richard Drew was born on June 3, 1904, in Washington, D.C., to a middle-class African American family. Growing up in the segregated capital, Drew excelled in both academics and athletics. He attended Amherst College on an athletic scholarship, playing football and running track while studying biology and chemistry. His athletic prowess earned him the Mossman Trophy as the most valuable player on his team, but it was his academic excellence that would change the world.
After graduating from Amherst, Drew worked as a biology instructor and athletic director while saving money for medical school. In 1928, he enrolled at McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Canada, where racial barriers were less severe than in the United States. At McGill, Drew excelled academically while continuing to pursue athletics. But a personal tragedy during medical school would set the course for his life's work: a classmate died from a post-operative hemorrhage, and Drew witnessed how the lack of available blood for transfusion cost his friend his life.
In the 1930s, blood transfusions were extremely limited. Whole blood could only be stored for about a week under refrigeration before it became unusable. Hospitals had to match blood types carefully, and in emergencies, there was often no blood available. During surgery or trauma, patients frequently died not from their injuries but from blood loss that couldn't be replaced quickly enough. The medical community desperately needed a solution.
After graduating from McGill as one of the top students in his class, Drew completed his residency and then pursued a doctorate at Columbia University in New York. His doctoral research focused on a revolutionary idea: separating blood plasma (the liquid portion) from red blood cells and preserving it for long-term storage. This research would earn him the first doctorate in medical science ever awarded to an African American by Columbia University.
Drew's 1940 doctoral thesis, "Banked Blood: A Study in Blood Preservation," was groundbreaking. He discovered that blood plasma—the liquid portion of blood without the cells—could be preserved, refrigerated, and stored for much longer than whole blood. Even more importantly, plasma could be dried into powder form and reconstituted when needed, and it could be given to anyone regardless of blood type. This meant that hospitals and battlefield medics could stock plasma and have it ready for emergencies without worrying about blood type compatibility or short shelf life.
Drew's research came at a critical moment in history. World War II had begun in Europe, and Britain was suffering devastating casualties from German bombing raids. The British desperately needed blood for their wounded, but transporting whole blood across the Atlantic was impossible. Drew's plasma preservation methods provided the solution.
In 1940, Drew was appointed medical director of the "Blood for Britain" project, which shipped over 5,000 liters of plasma from America to Britain. Under Drew's leadership, the project established collection centers, developed standardized procedures for plasma separation and preservation, and created systems for safe transportation. The plasma saved thousands of British soldiers and civilians during the Blitz. Drew's organizational genius turned a medical innovation into a functioning life-saving system.
Following the success of Blood for Britain, Drew became the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank and assistant director of the National Research Council's blood collection program for the United States military. He established protocols for blood collection, processing, and storage that became the standard worldwide. Drew also invented "bloodmobiles"—mobile blood donation units that could travel to communities and collect blood, dramatically expanding the donor base.
At the height of his success, Drew faced one of the most painful moments of his career. In 1942, the U.S. War Department, bowing to racist pressure, ordered that blood donations be segregated by race—white donors' blood was to be kept separate from Black donors' blood for use with white recipients, despite there being no scientific basis for this policy. Blood has no race, and Drew knew the policy was both medically absurd and morally wrong.
Drew publicly denounced the policy as "unscientific and insulting," calling it one of the most unjustified and cruel policies he had ever encountered. He resigned from his position at the Red Cross Blood Bank rather than participate in segregating blood. Despite saving thousands of lives and establishing the foundation for modern blood banking, Drew was reminded that racial prejudice persisted even in the face of scientific evidence and humanitarian achievement.
After leaving the Red Cross, Drew became chief surgeon at Freedmen's Hospital and head of the Department of Surgery at Howard University, the nation's leading historically Black medical school. He dedicated the rest of his career to training the next generation of Black surgeons. Drew personally trained or influenced over half of the Black surgeons practicing in America during his lifetime. He fought tirelessly for excellence in medical education and for opening opportunities for African American doctors.
Tragically, Charles Drew died in a car accident on April 1, 1950, at the age of 45. Myths arose that he had been denied treatment at a whites-only hospital and died from blood loss, but these were false—he received immediate emergency care but his injuries were too severe. However, the myth persisted because it reflected the very real racial discrimination in healthcare that Drew had fought against his entire life.
From battlefield plasma to modern blood banks—Charles Drew's innovations have saved millions of lives and continue to save lives every day worldwide.
Charles Drew's legacy extends far beyond his technical innovations in blood banking. His life embodied the struggle for excellence in the face of systemic racism and the courage to stand for scientific truth against discriminatory policies. Drew proved that "excellence of performance will transcend artificial barriers"—though he also proved that excellence doesn't eliminate racism entirely, it makes the injustice of discrimination even more glaring.
Today, every blood donation, every emergency transfusion, and every life saved through blood banking builds on Drew's foundation. His plasma preservation methods, bloodmobile concept, and standardized protocols remain fundamental to modern transfusion medicine. Blood banks worldwide operate using systems Drew pioneered. During emergencies, natural disasters, and medical procedures, Drew's innovations save countless lives.
Drew's stand against blood segregation was an act of moral courage that cost him personally but advanced the cause of civil rights in medicine. His insistence that blood has no race—that Black blood and white blood are identical and interchangeable—helped undermine the scientific racism that justified segregation. When the Red Cross eventually abandoned blood segregation in 1950, Drew's protest was vindicated.
Perhaps Drew's most lasting legacy is the hundreds of Black surgeons he trained at Howard University, many of whom became leaders in American medicine and trained subsequent generations. He created a pipeline of African American medical excellence that continues today. Medical schools, research centers, and blood donation programs bear his name, ensuring that future generations remember the man who revolutionized blood banking while fighting for justice and equality.
Discover the fascinating journey of this groundbreaking invention - from initial ideation and brainstorming, through prototyping and manufacturing challenges, to its distribution and early days in the market. Learn about the world-changing impact it has had on society.
Our comprehensive invention page covers: