Charles R. Drew
Charles Richard Drew (born June 3, 1904 in Washington, DC , † April 1, 1950 in North Carolina ) was an American surgeon and transfusion specialist .
Life
Charles R. Drew developed for his doctorate during a research stay at Columbia University in New York (1930) the now globally recognized method of separating blood stored into blood plasma and cell concentrate and freezing them separately in order to make them more durable. During World War II he was director of the Blood for Britain fundraising project, then director of the Red Cross blood banks . The African American doctor became known to the public for protesting in vain against the previous unscientific practice that US white soldiers should only receive blood from white donors. After the war he taught at Howard University in Washington.
Drew was killed in a car accident. An urban legend has it that a neighboring hospital would not accept him because of the color of his skin. However, eyewitnesses have denied this. The misrepresentation received, among other things, its mention in an episode of the television series M * A * S * H (season 2, episode 9).
In 1981 a stamp from the Great Americans series was dedicated to Drew , and numerous schools bear his name. In 2010 the United States Navy named a Lewis and Clark class cargo ship after him, the USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10) .
Trivia
Charles Richard Drew found its way into Stevie Wonder's album Songs in the Key of Life . In the song Black Man , “Dr. Charles Drew “specifically named as the director of the Red Cross blood bank .
literature
- Essays
- Denzel Parks: Charles Richard Drew, MD 1904–1950 . In: Journal of the National Medical Association , Vol. 71 (1979), No. 9, pp. 893-895, ISSN 0027-9684 , PMID 387970
- Chad R. Gordon: Charles R. Drew. Surgeon, scientist, and educator . In: Journal of Investigative Surgery. The official Journal of the ASR , Vol. 18 (2005), Issue September / October, pp. 223-225, ISSN 0894-1939 , PMID 16249164
- Non-fiction
- Spencie Love: One Blood. The Death and Ressurection of Charles R. Drew . University Press, Chapel Hill, NC 1996, ISBN 0-8078-2250-7 .
- Charles E. Wynes: Charles Richard Drew. The man and the myth . University Press, Urbana, Ill. 1988, ISBN 0-252-01551-7 (Blacks in the New World).
Individual evidence
- ↑ See also the correction of this legend ("It is a hell of a story ...") in Arthur M. Schlesinger's book "The Disuniting of America" , London / New York 1991, p. 79
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Drew, Charles R. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Drew, Charles Richard (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American surgeon |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 3, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, DC |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1, 1950 |
| Place of death | North Carolina |