Charles R. Drew

About Charles R. Drew

Who is it?: Physician & Surgeon
Birth Day: June 03, 1904
Birth Place: Washington, D.C., United States
Died On: April 1, 1950(1950-04-01) (aged 45)\nBurlington, North Carolina, U.S.
Birth Sign: Cancer
Alma mater: Amherst College, McGill University, Columbia University
Known for: Blood banking, blood transfusions
Awards: Spingarn Medal
Fields: General surgery
Institutions: Freedman's Hospital Morgan State University Montreal General Hospital Howard University
Doctoral advisor: John Beattie

Charles R. Drew Net Worth

Charles R. Drew was born on June 03, 1904 in Washington, D.C., United States, is Physician & Surgeon. Charles Richard Drew was a famous American physician, surgeon and medical researcher. He is remembered for his outstanding innovations and researches on blood transfusions. His innovative techniques for better blood storage and researches in blood transfusion helped save thousands of lives during the World War II. His innovations revolutionized the medical profession and inspired many medical aspirants to follow his path. He was the director of ‘Blood for Britain’, the first blood bank project organized in the year 1940 to help British civilians and soldiers. He also served as director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank, which was established by him. Though he had an untimely death at the age of 46, his contributions had significant impact in the field of medicine, and provided a strong base for research on similar lines. Rightly referred to as the ‘Father of the blood bank’, this outstanding personality played a major role in organizing, conceiving and directing the first blood banking program in the history of America.
Charles R. Drew is a member of Surgeons

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1904

Drew was born in 1904 into an African-American middle-class family in Washington, D.C. His father, Richard, was a carpet layer and his mother, Nora Burrell, was a Teacher. Drew and his siblings grew up in D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood and he graduated from Dunbar High School in 1922. Drew won an athletics scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1926. An outstanding athlete at Amherst, Drew also joined Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He attended medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, receiving his MDCM in 1933, and ranked 2nd in his class of 127 students. A few years later, Drew did graduate work at Columbia University, where he earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree, becoming the first African American to do so.

1939

Beginning in 1939, Drew traveled to Tuskegee, Alabama to attend the annual free clinic at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital. For the 1950 Tuskegee clinic, Drew drove along with three other black Physicians. Drew was driving around 8 a.m. on April 1. Still fatigued from spending the night before in the operating theater, he lost control of the vehicle. After careening into a field, the car somersaulted three times. The three other Physicians suffered minor injuries. Drew was trapped with serious wounds; his foot had become wedged beneath the brake pedal. When reached by emergency technicians, he was in shock and barely alive due to severe leg injuries.

1940

In late 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II and just after earning his doctorate, Drew was recruited by John Scudder to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. He was to collect, test, and transport large quantities of blood plasma for distribution in the United Kingdom. Drew went to New York City as the medical Director of the United States' Blood for Britain project. The Blood for Britain project was a project to aid British Soldiers and civilians by giving U.S. blood to the United Kingdom.

1941

In 1941, Drew's distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first African-American surgeon selected to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. Drew had a lengthy research and teaching career and became a chief surgeon.

1950

Drew was taken to Alamance General Hospital in Burlington, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead a half hour after he first received medical attention. Drew's funeral was held on April 5, 1950, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.