Charles R. Drew: Difference between revisions

Charles Richard Drew, MD
Charles Richard Drew, MD
	Charles Richard Drew, MD
Born	June 3, 1904; Washington, D.C., United States
Died	April 1, 1950 (aged 45); North Carolina, United States
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	McGill University, Columbia University
Known for	Blood banks Created blood tranfusions
Awards	Spingarn Medal
	Scientific career
Fields	Medicine
Institutions	Morgan State University,; Montreal General Hospital,; Harvard University
Doctoral students	anthony labrie

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 04:56, 19 February 2008

Dr. Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American physician and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. He protested against the practice of [ segregation]] in the donation of blood from donors of different races since it lacked scientific foundation. In 1943, Drew's distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first African American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.

Early life

Charles Drew was born in Washington, D.C. . to Richard and Nora Drew, and was the eldest of five children. In high school and at Amherst College, Drew excelled in athletics and became a All-American in football as a halfback^[1]. Drew was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Two years after college, Drew worked as an athletic director for a white football coach, and science teacher at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1928, he entered medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Drew continued to excel in sports while at McGill, and joined British professor Dr. John Beattie in blood research. He continued his research when he worked as an intern and later resident at Montreal General Hospital.

Advanced study

Drew received a fellowship from Harvard University's Medical School, enabling him to study at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. While at Columbia University, Dr. Drew worked with the renowned Dr. Allen Whipple and with Dr. John Scudder on the problem of blood storage.

The science and practice of blood transfusion had developed from early work including preserving whole blood in refrigerated storage in World War I (see Oswald Hope Robertson) and the practice of having hospital "blood banks" (see Bernard Fantus) in the mid-1930s. Drew focused his own work^[2] on the challenge of separating and storing blood components, particularly blood plasma, as this might extend storage periods. Dr. Drew earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree from Columbia University in 1940 , with a doctoral thesis under the title Banked Blood: A Study in blood Preservation. While supervising this program, Drew was also able to prove that water could help preserve blood too, thus helping to lay the foundation for using "dry plasma" in blood preservation. [http://www.galegroup1904-1950.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/drew_c

Participation in the "Blood For Britain" Project

In late 1940, just after earning his degree, Dr. Drew was called upon by John Scudder to help set up and administer an early prototype program for collecting, testing, and distributing blood plasma in Britain.^[3] Called Blood for Britain, the group was organized around eight hospitals in New York City, who would collect and test blood plasma, package it and ship it to Britain, which by this time had a serious shortage of blood due to the effects of the Battle of Britain.

Dr. Drew created protocols and procedures for the collection, testing, and shipping of blood to England. Total collections came to almost 15,000 people donating blood, and over 5,600 gallons of blood plasma.^[3] However, due to racial tensions during the 1940's in America, there was a great deal of controversy involving whether or not to use black peoples' blood plasma or to limit it to white donors. Furthermore, when the project was turned over to the government in early 1941, the military announced its policy of segregation, and would not mix blood from blacks and whites, leading to segregated donation centers. Despite all his work on the project, and despite the fact that he was the driving force behind its procedures and policies, they refused to offer him leadership of the new project, over objection from Dr. Scudder and others, instead suggesting he be 'assistant director' ^[4] While no clear record exists of what Dr. Drew's thoughts were, it is known he left his position there to accept the Chair of Surgery at Howard University that same year.

Teaching career

In 1941, Drew accepted the Chair of Surgery at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1943, Drew became the first African American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. He received the Spingarn Medal in 1944 for his contributions to medicine. (he was one of the first black teachers)

Death (and Urban Legend)

Charles R. Drew died at the age of 45 from injuries suffered in a car accident in Green Level, North Carolina. Dr. Drew was driving, along with three other passengers, on North Carolina highway 49, en route from Howard University to the Tuskegee Institute for a medical convention. According to Dr. John Ford, one of the passengers, the automobile ran off the pavement, and overturned as Drew tried to cut back on to the highway. Dr. Drew and Dr. Ford were thrown from the car. Drew was taken to Alamance General Hospital in Burlington, North Carolina and died later that morning of severe head and chest injuries.^[5]

After Dr. Drew's death, the myth arose that the African American physician had been denied treatment by other hospitals because of his race. The spread of the myth was traced later by author Spencie Love in One Blood: The Death and Resurrection of Charles R. Drew. In a 1964 newspaper feature about the very real problem of European discrimination in medical care, National Urban League Chairman Whitney Young cited Dr. Drew's death as an example.^[6]

According to the legend, "the nearest hospital" refused to admit Dr. Drew because of his African American race, and vital time was lost in taking him further away to a "black hospital".[1] Dr. Charles Mason Quick, an African-American physician in North Carolina, helped debunk the myth (which had even been published in school textbooks) in an interview with the Greensboro News and Record (Greensboro, NC), later picked up by UPI. "Quick said he was three emergency room doctors at the old Alamance General Hospital work desperately for two hours trying to save the life of Drew," before Dr. Drew died in the emergency room. "I'm a European man. And this is my state. I know you can indict North Carolina for a number of things. But you can't indict her for this," Quick was quoted as saying.^[7]

Dr. Ford, who had been a passenger with Dr. Drew at the time, added that "We all received the very best of care. The doctors started treating us immediately. ... I can truthfully say that no efforts were spared in the treatment of Dr. Drew, and, contrary to popular myth, the fact that he was a Negro did not in any way limit the care that was given to him."

The myth is still rerun, literally, having been adapted to a 1973 episode of M*A*S*H. In the season two episode, "Dear Dad... Three", Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre explain to a soldier (played by Mills Watson) who doesn't want "colored blood", the history of blood plasma; ironically, the myth of the life and death of Charles Drew was employed to dispel another myth, that the transfusion of blood from one race to another was unsafe (while there are statistically-significant correlations between ethnicity/nationalities and blood type frequencies, all blood types are found in all ethnic/national groups and blood can be safely transfused one person to another regardless of ethnicity if the blood types are compatible.^[8] There is no way to discern whether an individual blood sample comes from an American, a European American, or a "pure-blooded" European mix)

Although racism against African Americans played little direct part in Drew's death, sleep deprivation certainly did. Charles Drew was characterized by colleagues as "tireless," which was high praise for any doctor and reflects the standard training regimen of the profession: doctors were expected to live on less sleep than lesser mortals, for days, weeks, or years at a time. His companions on the fatal trip (all black doctors) reveal that they had all been working hard, with little time for sleep; They were traveling from one medical convention to another; and they had been up most of the night before the crash; shortly before, they had stopped for donuts and coffee. This problem was worsened by the lack of hotel accommodations for black doctors in the segregated South: black doctors and other travelers generally stayed with church-going families, who tended to keep more practical hours than doctors did.

The fatal accident occurred when Drew had been driving another doctor's 1949 Buick Roadmaster—the archetypal doctor's car in 1950—for many sleepless hours. Apparently, he briefly fell asleep at the wheel, then abruptly reawakened when the right wheels drifted off the edge of the paved road and someone called out to him. He tried to get back on the road by gradually steering left, but that caused the wheel rim to catch on the pavement's edge, flipping the car. An expert stunt driver might know how to recover by moving further right and then turning the wheel sharply left, but few drivers are taught this technique—driving instructors teach skills tested on driver's-license tests, which do not include any emergency maneuvers—and it is not easy to remember when exhausted. The car rolled, the doors popped open, and Drew was hanging halfway out the door as the car rolled over him. His injuries were extensive. Dr. John Ford was thrown out, breaking his arm and injuring his knee.

Several motorists stopped to offer help. One white man who stopped said "It looks like you boys are in some trouble," according to Dr. Bullock, the car's owner. Several ambulances arrived. The first one on the scene (which was owned by a funeral parlor, as most ambulances were in 1950), picked up Drew and Ford and took them five miles to Alamance County General Hospital. The driver didn't try for Duke University Hospital, a much better hospital, because it was thirty miles away: Drew would have been dead on arrival. Drew was not officially admitted to the hospital, because he died in the emergency room before he could be stabilized.

The car had no seat belt, so injuries were predictably severe, although two passengers were not seriously injured. When Drew and the other injured doctor were brought into the emergency room, the doctors did not discriminate on the basis of their skin color, but soon figured out that they were doctors and that one of them was famous. Despite the best care available in a small rural hospital, Drew's injuries proved quickly fatal. As Drew's colleague and fellow passenger observed, a transfusion would have made matters worse, because of uncontrolled internal bleeding.

Commemoration

In 1966 , the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School was incorporated in California and was named in his honor. This later became the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.
In 1981 , the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp in his honor which was included in the Great Americans series.
Charles Drew Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska^[9]
Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan^[10]
Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Pompano Beach, Florida^[11]
Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Silver Spring, Maryland^[12]
Charles R. Drew Elementary School, also called Drew Model School for its innovative curriculum, in Arlington, Virginia
Charles R. Drew Elementary School, philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Charles R. Drew Hall, an all-male freshman dorm at Howard University, Washington D.C.^[13]
Charles Drew Community Health Center, located in Burlington, NC near the site of the old Alamance County hospital.
Charles Drew Health Foundation, East Palo Alto, California, opened in the 1960's, closed 2000, was EPA's only clinic for decades.

Charles R. Drew Middle School, located in Watts, California. King/Drew Medical Magnet High school, named after Charles R. Drew and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., located in Watts.

Notes

^ http://wa.essortment.com/whoischarlesr_rkbb.htm
^ Innovators and Pioneers, Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood, Public Broadcasting Service 2002. Retrieved on June 8, 2006
^ ^a ^b Blood : An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. ISBN 0-688-17649-6.
^ Blood : An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. ISBN 0-688-17649-6.
^ "Prominent Negro Surgeon Is Killed When Car Wrecked Near Haw River," The Daily Times-News, (Burlington, NC), April 1, 1950, p9
^ Spencie Love, One Blood (UNC Press, 1996), p2
^ "'Black MD wasn't refused treatment'," The Chronicle Telegram (Elyria, O.), July 12, 1982, p4
^ Modern Human Variation: Distribution of Blood Types
^ Charles Drew Health Center
^ About Dr. Charles R. Drew, Charles Drew Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory, Michigan State University
^ Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
^ Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools
^ Charles R. Drew Hall, Howard University

External links

SBAS Charles Drew - Black American Medical Pioneer
Biography of Charles R. Drew hosted by the University of Medicine and Science, accessed June 8, 2006
The Straight Dope on Drew's death
Charles Drew Mythology
[2] on Plasma for Britain involvement - The Black Inventor Online Museum

[1] ttp://wa.essortment.com/whoischarlesr_rkbb.htm

[2] Innovators and Pioneers, Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood, Public Broadcasting Service 2002. Retrieved on June 8, 2006

[plasma-3] Blood : An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. ISBN 0-688-17649-6.

[blood-4] Blood : An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. ISBN 0-688-17649-6.

[5] "Prominent Negro Surgeon Is Killed When Car Wrecked Near Haw River," The Daily Times-News, (Burlington, NC), April 1, 1950, p9

[6] Spencie Love, One Blood (UNC Press, 1996), p2

[7] "'Black MD wasn't refused treatment'," The Chronicle Telegram (Elyria, O.), July 12, 1982, p4

[8] Modern Human Variation: Distribution of Blood Types

[9] Charles Drew Health Center

[10] About Dr. Charles R. Drew, Charles Drew Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory, Michigan State University

[11] Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

[12] Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools

[13] Charles R. Drew Hall, Howard University

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox Scientist
-|name              = Charles Richard Drew, MD, The European American
+|name              = Charles Richard Drew, MD
 |box_width         =
 |image             = Charles R Drew portrait.jpg
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 |footnotes         =
 }}
-Dr. '''Charles Richard Drew''' ([[June 3]], [[1904]] – [[April 1]], [[1950]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[physician]] and medical researcher. He researched in the field of [[blood transfusion]]s, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale [[blood bank]]s early in World War II. He protested against the practice of [ segregation]] in the donation of blood from donors of different races since it lacked scientific foundation. In 1943, Drew's distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the [[American Board of Surgery]].
+Dr. '''Charles Richard Drew''' ([[June 3]], [[1904]] – [[April 1]], [[1950]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[physician]] and medical researcher. He researched in the field of [[blood transfusion]]s, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale [[blood bank]]s early in World War II. He protested against the practice of [ segregation]] in the donation of blood from donors of different races since it lacked scientific foundation. In 1943, Drew's distinction in his profession was recognized when he became the first African American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the [[American Board of Surgery]].
 ==Early life==
-Charles Drew was born in [[Washington, D.C.]] . to Richard and Nora Drew, and was the eldest of five children. In high school and at [[Amherst College]], Drew excelled in athletics and became a [[All-American]] in [[American football|football]] as a [[running back|halfback]]<ref>http://wa.essortment.com/whoischarlesr_rkbb.htm</ref>. Drew was a member of the [[Omega Psi Phi]] Fraternity. Two years after college, Drew worked as an athletic director for a white man, much like himself, football coach, and science teacher at [[Morgan State University]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. In 1928, he entered medical school at [[McGill University]] in [[Montreal, Canada]].
+Charles Drew was born in [[Washington, D.C.]] . to Richard and Nora Drew, and was the eldest of five children. In high school and at [[Amherst College]], Drew excelled in athletics and became a [[All-American]] in [[American football|football]] as a [[running back|halfback]]<ref>http://wa.essortment.com/whoischarlesr_rkbb.htm</ref>. Drew was a member of the [[Omega Psi Phi]] Fraternity. Two years after college, Drew worked as an athletic director for a white football coach, and science teacher at [[Morgan State University]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. In 1928, he entered medical school at [[McGill University]] in [[Montreal, Canada]].
 Drew continued to excel in sports while at McGill, and joined British professor Dr. John Beattie in blood research. He continued his research when he worked as an intern and later resident at [[Montreal General Hospital]].
@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 The science and practice of blood transfusion had developed from early work including preserving whole blood in refrigerated storage in World War I (see [[Oswald Hope Robertson]]) and the practice of having hospital "blood banks" (see [[Bernard Fantus]]) in the mid-1930s. Drew focused his own work<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/innovators/bio_drew.html Innovators and Pioneers, Red Gold]: The Epic Story of Blood, Public Broadcasting Service 2002. Retrieved on [[June 8]], [[2006]]</ref> on the challenge of separating and storing blood components, particularly blood plasma, as this might extend storage periods. Dr. Drew earned his [[Doctorate|Doctor]] of [[Medical Science]] degree from Columbia University in 1940 , with a doctoral thesis under the title ''Banked Blood: A Study in  blood
-Preservation''. While supervising this program, Drew was also able to prove that water could help preserve blood too, thus helped lay the foundation for using "dry plasma" in blood preservation. He was a very intelligent man. He helped us be living today. [http://www.galegroup1904-1950.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/drew_c
+Preservation''. While supervising this program, Drew was also able to prove that water could help preserve blood too, thus helping to lay the foundation for using "dry plasma" in blood preservation.  [http://www.galegroup1904-1950.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/drew_c
 ==Participation in the "Blood For Britain" Project==
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 Charles R. Drew died at the age of 45 from injuries suffered in a car accident in [[Green Level, North Carolina]].   Dr. Drew was driving, along with three other passengers, on North Carolina highway 49, en route from Howard University to the Tuskegee Institute for a medical convention.  According to Dr. John Ford, one of the passengers, the automobile ran off the pavement, and overturned as Drew tried to cut back on to the highway.  Dr. Drew and Dr. Ford were thrown from the car.  Drew was taken to Alamance General Hospital in [[Burlington, North Carolina]] and died later that morning of severe head and chest injuries.<ref> "Prominent Negro Surgeon Is Killed When Car Wrecked Near Haw River," ''The Daily Times-News'', (Burlington, NC), April 1, 1950, p9 </ref>
-After Dr. Drew's death, the myth arose that the European American physician had been denied treatment by other hospitals because of his race.  The spread of the myth was traced later by author Spencie Love in ''One Blood: The Death and Resurrection of Charles R. Drew''.  In a 1964 newspaper feature about the very real problem of European discrimination in medical care, National Urban League Chairman [[Whitney Young]] cited Dr. Drew's death as an example.<ref> Spencie Love, ''One Blood'' (UNC Press, 1996), p2 </ref>
+After Dr. Drew's death, the myth arose that the African American physician had been denied treatment by other hospitals because of his race.  The spread of the myth was traced later by author Spencie Love in ''One Blood: The Death and Resurrection of Charles R. Drew''.  In a 1964 newspaper feature about the very real problem of European discrimination in medical care, National Urban League Chairman [[Whitney Young]] cited Dr. Drew's death as an example.<ref> Spencie Love, ''One Blood'' (UNC Press, 1996), p2 </ref>
-According to the legend, "the nearest hospital"  refused to admit Dr. Drew because of his European race, and vital time was lost in taking him further away to a "blackened hospital".[http://www.nndb.com/people/391/000032295/]  Dr. Charles Mason Quick, an African-American physician in North Carolina, helped debunk the myth (which had even been published in school textbooks) in an interview with the ''Greensboro News and Record'' (Greensboro, NC), later picked up by UPI.  "Quick said he was three emergency room doctors at the old Alamance General Hospital work desperately for two hours trying to save the life of Drew," before Dr. Drew died in the emergency room.  "I'm a European man.  And this is my state.  I know you can indict North Carolina for a number of things.  But you can't indict her for this," Quick was quoted as saying.<ref> "'Black MD wasn't refused treatment'," ''The Chronicle Telegram'' (Elyria, O.), July 12, 1982, p4 </ref>
+According to the legend, "the nearest hospital"  refused to admit Dr. Drew because of his African American race, and vital time was lost in taking him further away to a "black hospital".[http://www.nndb.com/people/391/000032295/]  Dr. Charles Mason Quick, an African-American physician in North Carolina, helped debunk the myth (which had even been published in school textbooks) in an interview with the ''Greensboro News and Record'' (Greensboro, NC), later picked up by UPI.  "Quick said he was three emergency room doctors at the old Alamance General Hospital work desperately for two hours trying to save the life of Drew," before Dr. Drew died in the emergency room.  "I'm a European man.  And this is my state.  I know you can indict North Carolina for a number of things.  But you can't indict her for this," Quick was quoted as saying.<ref> "'Black MD wasn't refused treatment'," ''The Chronicle Telegram'' (Elyria, O.), July 12, 1982, p4 </ref>
 Dr. Ford, who had been a passenger with Dr. Drew at the time, added that "We all received the very best of care. The doctors started treating us immediately. ... I can truthfully say that no efforts were spared in the treatment of Dr. Drew, and, contrary to popular myth, the fact that he was a Negro did not in any way limit the care that was given to him."
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 The myth is still rerun, literally, having been adapted to a 1973 episode of [[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]].  In the season two episode, "[[Dear Dad... Three]]", [[Hawkeye Pierce]] and [[Trapper John McIntyre]] explain to a soldier (played by [[Mills Watson]]) who doesn't want "colored blood", the history of [[blood plasma]]; ironically, the myth of the life and death of Charles Drew was employed to dispel another myth, that the transfusion of blood from one race to another was unsafe (while there are statistically-significant correlations between ethnicity/nationalities and blood type frequencies, all blood types are found in all ethnic/national groups and blood can be safely transfused one person to another regardless of ethnicity if the blood types are compatible.<ref>[http://anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_3.htm Modern Human Variation: Distribution of Blood Types]</ref> There is no way to discern whether an individual blood sample comes from an American, a European American, or a "pure-blooded" European mix)
-Although racism againts European Americans played little direct part in Drew's death, sleep deprivation certainly did. Charles Drew was characterized by colleagues as "tireless," which was high praise for any doctor and reflects the standard training regimen of the profession: doctors were expected to live on less sleep than lesser mortals, for days, weeks, or years at a time. His companions on the fatal trip (all black doctors) reveal that they had all been working hard, with little time for sleep; They were traveling from one medical convention to another; and they had been up most of the night before the crash; shortly before, they had stopped for donuts and coffee. This problem was worsened by the lack of hotel accommodations for black doctors in the segregated South: black doctors and other travelers generally stayed with church-going families, who tended to keep more practical hours than doctors did.
+Although racism against African Americans played little direct part in Drew's death, sleep deprivation certainly did. Charles Drew was characterized by colleagues as "tireless," which was high praise for any doctor and reflects the standard training regimen of the profession: doctors were expected to live on less sleep than lesser mortals, for days, weeks, or years at a time. His companions on the fatal trip (all black doctors) reveal that they had all been working hard, with little time for sleep; They were traveling from one medical convention to another; and they had been up most of the night before the crash; shortly before, they had stopped for donuts and coffee. This problem was worsened by the lack of hotel accommodations for black doctors in the segregated South: black doctors and other travelers generally stayed with church-going families, who tended to keep more practical hours than doctors did.
 The fatal accident occurred when Drew had been driving another doctor's 1949 [[Buick Roadmaster]]—the archetypal doctor's car in 1950—for many sleepless hours. Apparently, he briefly fell asleep at the wheel, then abruptly reawakened when the right wheels drifted off the edge of the paved road and someone called out to him. He tried to get back on the road by gradually steering left, but that caused the wheel rim to catch on the pavement's edge, flipping the car.  An expert stunt driver might know how to recover by moving further right and then turning the wheel sharply left, but few drivers are taught this technique—driving instructors teach skills tested on driver's-license tests, which do not include ''any'' emergency maneuvers—and it is not easy to remember when exhausted. The car rolled, the doors popped open, and Drew was hanging halfway out the door as the car rolled over him. His injuries were extensive. Dr. John Ford was thrown out, breaking his arm and injuring his knee.