Charles Richard Drew - Finding Ways to Accomplish His Goals No Matter What


Charles Richard Drew 
June 3, 1904 - April 1, 1950


Charles born June 1904 to father - Richard carpet layer and mother - Nora teacher, a middle class African American family in Washington, D.C. He started working as a newspaper delivery boy. Dunbar High School where Charles went was all about equality and opportunities regardless of societies challenges at the time. He attended Amherst College under an athletic scholarship playing football and track and field. Morgan College a private historical black school is now Morgan State University a public HBCU where he was a chemistry and biology professor and the first athletic director and football coach.

Due to roadblocks delaying him from attending Howard University and Harvard Medical School during his inquires, Charles went to McGill's medical school in Montreal, Canada. Charles earned Alpha Omega Alpha ranking 2nd of 127 students in his graduating class accomplishing Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree in 1933. Charles worked at Howard University as a surgery instructor and an assistant surgeon. He procured the Rockefeller fellowship in surgery at Columbia University working toward his graduate degree. Soon after working toward postgraduate degree attaining Doctor of Science in Surgery at Columbia University.


John Scudder enrolled Charles to aid in setting up the program for preserving and storing blood. Charles' thesis, which earned him his Doctor of Science in Medicine Degree in 1940, contributed to the development of transporting and maintaining blood. Charles organized collecting blood where it was tested and low to no risk of contamination before shipping to Britain. In February 1941, Charles was designated as director for the first American Red Cross Blood Bank. The possibility of more blood donations he invented mobile stations that would collect the blood and refrigerate it. U.S. Army and Navy at first cast out African American blood; however, later welcomed it only if it was segregated from Whites. By way of protest Charles quit. He went back to his previous position as a surgeon and professor at Howard University. 

Charles and some of his colleagues were on their way to Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to attend a medical conference when Charles lost control of the vehicle. He suffered from his injuries and died April 1, 1950. Because only white doctors were permitted to join the District of Columbia chapter of the American Medical Association, Charles died never being recognized for membership.


Source: https://www.biography.com/scientists/charles-drew
     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Drew

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