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Since the beginning of World War II, thousands of wounded American soldiers whose lives were saved by blood plasma owe much to Dr. Charles Richard Drew.

A native of Washington, D.C., Drew was an outstanding scholar at Amherst College in Massachusetts. His work in the classroom was equaled on the playing field as captain of the track team and star halfback on the football squad. On graduation day, he was awarded the Messman Trophy for bringing honor to the school during his four-year studies.

After earning his M.D. at McGill University in 1933, Drew returned to Washington to teach at Howard University. While taking additional courses at Columbia, he wrote a paper on blood banks which introduced him to the field in which he was to become a world expert.

In 1940, responding to a call from the British Government, Dr. Drew, at age 36, became medical director of a pioneer blood plasma project in Great Britain. He contributed many technical answers while directing the first experiment to produce great quantities of emergency blood. During World War II, he planned, established and directed the world’s first blood plasma bank. Located at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, the bank became a model for a system of blood banks opened by the American Red Cross. Dr. Drew was appointed director for the Red Cross blood donor project and his advanced research is credited with saving countless lives in World War II.

E-mail: ehaynie@swbell.net