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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Its disgusting but true, I have found at least 3 racist
web sites trying to deny Dr. Drew's significant contributions
to the development of a dependable "Blood Bank". Until his
entry into this area the development, separation and storage
of blood plasma was disjointed and undependable. These racists
web sites try to discredit him by saying that all he did was
manage the already in place infrastructure of blood banks,
(that is the real lie, for in reality no dependable infrastructure
existed).
First and foremost visit the American
Red Cross web site to substantial what I am saying here.
What is stated in this website is that Dr. Drew created a
successful effort to turn laboratory experiments and the blood
research done by others and himself into mass production of
plasma for shipment to the British Isles. Drew's research
on blood transfusions followed the discovery that human blood
could be categorized into four main types (A, B, AB, O). Drew
received his medical degree and Master of Surgery degree at
McGill, and completed his residency at Montreal General Hospital.
He returned to Washington, D.C. to help care for his family
after his father died, and he began teaching at Howard University's
medical school. In 1938, he accepted a fellowship to continue
his blood research at Columbia University. There, Drew developed
a method for processing and storing blood plasma that allowed
it to be dehydrated, shipped great distances, and then reconstituted
just before transfusions.
Contrivance Economic Impact:
This was a great breakthrough. Before
then, unprocessed blood was very perishable and would become
unusable after about a week.
Without his great knowledge he had obtain during the research
he did in order to write his thesis, ("Banked Blood"), he would not have had been able to achieve what many creditable people consider
the "Solution" to saving so many lives during WW II. The solution to this crisis was the creation of instituting a system of rigorous processing in a central laboratory so that the sterility of all donated blood could be controlled, thus the "Modern Day Blood Bank". In other words the system that he and his assistants developed involved much more than just sitting around in an office managing the donation of blood. Thus the need to control costs and restrain expenditure, in conjunction with guarantees of sufficiency and quality, made it essential that measures should be taken to introduce economies of scale, for increased production, components preparation and rational usage of blood. Thus introduction of his systems and costing policy made it possible to achieve cost-containment techniques, along with providing affordable, dependable quality blood.
Drew later also relieved the community hospitals of their constant donor traffic by introducing the idea of a refrigerated mobile blood bank.
He also protested against the practice of racial segregation
in the donation of blood from donors of different races since
it lacked scientific foundation. Despite his protests that
the policy was unscientific and insulting, the government
continued to segregate blood banks. He resigned. Drew resumed
teaching at Howard and became chief surgeon at Freedmen's
Hospital. In 1943, he became the first black surgeon to be
an examiner for the American Board of Surgery.
Charles Richard Drew was born on June 3,1904 in Washington D.C.
His father was Richard Drew; his mother was Nora Drew. He was
born into a middle-class family. Drew was the eldest of five
children. Drew and his family lived in a 16-room house at 1806
E. Street for 6 years before moving to another building across
the block. His neighborhood was called Foggy Bottom. Drew grew
up in a racially mixed community. Drew grew up in a safe, comfortable
neighborhood. This feeling of safety and security was often
not the same for blacks who grew up in the South. His neighborhood
lived as comfortably as middle-class, white neighborhoods. Drew
began working as a paperboy selling copies of the Washington
Times and Herald. Drew attended Stevens Elementary School and
it was here that after a few years he started selling newspapers.
Drew resigned as a paperboy when he got older. Instead, he found
work at construction sites. In 1918, he enrolled in Dunbar High
School. Dunbar was a segregated high school that had a reputation
for being one ot the best black schools in the country. Drew
did very well at Dunbar High School academically, but he did
even better athletically. Drew was very popular in high school.
Drew’s sister, Elsie who was ailing tuberculoses, died of pandemic
influenza in 1920. This loss is said to have influenced him
to study medicine. Drew’s family moved across the Potomac to
Arlington, Virginia. Drew’s athleticism won him a partial scholarship
to Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Dr. Charles Drew died in a automobile crash on April 1, 1950. He and several colleagues were on their way to a conference in Tuskegee, Al. He was driving and he lost control of the vehicle. Although there were three other physicians in the vehicle none were seriously injured except for Dr. Drew during the rollover crash. Dr. Drew was taken to Alamance General Hospital. He sustained a closed head injury, a crush injury to the chest and severe soft tissue injuries to his extremities. The physicians were unable to save Dr. Drew. Rumors that Dr. Drew was denied life saving blood transfusions, because he was Black, make great headlines but have never been substantiated. Dr. Drew's student, Dr. Charles Mason Quick went to Alamance General Hospital shortly after the crash and he concluded that Dr. Drew received the best of care. Dr. Drew was survived by his wife and four children.
LINKS:
- MIT
- ABOUT.com
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