Welcome & Charles Drew Bio

Welcome to the National Society of Black Engineer's Black History Month blog on CR4! All through February we will feature a black inventor, scientist, or engineer every day. We hope you enjoy this, learn, and share with your friends!

Charles Richard Drew was a Black physician and medical researcher most remembered for his pioneering work in the development of viable blood transfusions. Born in 1904 to Richard and Nora Drew in Washington D.C., the work of Charles Drew would eventually come to have worldwide impact.

Despite an early interest in education and medicine, Drew was also a talented athlete. He played a variety of sports in high school and college, captaining the track team and starring as the halfback on his collegiate football team. After graduation from Amherst College, he took a position as both biology teacher and Athletic Director at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. In 1928 Drew pursued his interest in medicine with enrollment at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He graduated second in his class of 127 in 1933 with Master of Surgery and Doctor of Medicine degrees. Following his return to the United States two years later, Drew began work as an instructor of pathology at Howard University, also serving as a resident at the Freedmen's Hospital, where he was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Research Fellowship.

Charles Drew would later spend two years at Columbia University in New York, where he attended classes and became involved in research on blood and blood transfusions. He wrote his doctoral thesis on "Banked Blood," where he described a technique he developed for the long-term preservation of blood plasma. Prior to his work, blood for transfusions could only be stored for a day or two due to the rapid breakdown in red blood cells. Drew discovered that by separating the blood into blood plasma (the liquid part of blood) and red blood cells and freezing each, the results could be combined up to a week later for a successful transfusion. He also discovered that though blood type could prevent viable transfusion from one donor to another, plasma was universal for all individuals and could thus be administered to any patient regardless of donor.

In late 1940 Drew was called in to direct the Blood Transfusion Association for New York City, the US affiliate of the Blood for Britain project, an institution designed to facilitate the collection, testing, and distribution of blood plasma for soldiers and civilians in Britain. While there, Drew developed the model for providing a central location for blood collection, and instituted a system of contaminant testing and procedural rigor to ensure the safety of all blood used for the program. Blood for Britain operated successfully for five months, during which time the program saved thousands of lives for the Allied Forces. Drew would later be named a project director for the American Red Cross, but resigned that post when the US War Department mandated that blood taken from White donors should be segregated from that of Black donors.

Charles Drew returned to Howard University in 1942 and headed its Department of Surgery, and also served as Chief of Surgery at Freedmen's Hospital. He was later named Chief of Staff and Medical Director for the hospital. Charles Drew died on April 1, 1950, when the automobile he was driving went out of control and turned over three times. While the other three doctors riding with him suffered minor injuries, Drew sustained severe leg injuries and was in shock by the time emergency personnel arrived on the scene. Contrary to popular legend, Drew was not denied care by an all-White hospital; he and the other Black physicians with him were cared for on arrival. Drew's injuries were severe, however, and he died soon after emergency treatment. His legacy lives on, however, in the millions of lives his work in developing the blood plasma bank has touched. His pioneering work has made him one of the most respected figures in modern medicine.

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.