Drew, Charles Richard, 1904–50, African-American physician, b. Washington, D.C. A surgeon and a professor at Howard Univ. (1935–36; 1942–50), he developed a means of preserving blood plasma for transfusion. During World War II he headed (1940–41) the program that sent blood to Great Britain and was (1941–42) the director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank blood bank, site or mobile unit for collecting, processing, typing, and storing whole blood , blood plasma and other blood constituents. Most hospitals maintain their own blood reserves, and the American Red Cross provides a nationwide collection and distribution
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Drew, Charles Richard

(born June 3, 1904, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died April 1, 1950, near Burlington, N.C.) U.S. physician and surgeon. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. While researching the properties and preservation of blood plasma, he developed efficient ways to process and store plasma in blood banks. He directed the U.S. and Britain's World War II blood-plasma programs until 1942. An African American, he resigned over the segregation of the blood of blacks and whites in blood banks.