10 Ways Dr. Charles Drew's Contributions to Blood Storage Forever Changed The World

Discovering How to Bank Plasma In 1938, Dr. Charles Drew received a Rockefeller Fellowship to study at Columbia University and train at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. There, Drew developed a method for processing and preserving blood plasma, or blood without cells. Plasma lasts much longer than whole blood, making it possible to be stored or "banked" for longer periods of time. He discovered that the plasma could be dried and then reconstituted when needed, according to the biography.com website. His research served as the basis of his doctorate thesis, "Banked Blood," and he received his doctorate degree in 1940. Drew became the first African-American to earn this degree from Columbia. Drew Collects Blood for Britain Prior to the United States' involvement in World War II, liquid plasma and whole blood were used. The "Blood for Britain" program during the early 1940s was quite successful (and popular in the United States) based on Charles Drew's contribution. A large project began in August 1940 to collect blood in New York City hospitals for the export of plasma to Britain. Drew was appointed medical supervisor of the "Plasma for Britain" project. His notable contribution at this time was to transform the test tube methods of many blood researchers into the first successful mass production techniques, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Drew to the Rescue in World War II Although Drew didn't "discover" plasma as a blood substitute, his expertise and leadership were largely responsible for the program's success, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. When it concluded in January 1941, Blood for Britain had collected 14,556 blood donations, and shipped (via the Red Cross) over 5,000 liters of plasma saline solution to England. Drew's final report on the project established him as a leading expert on blood procurement and processing. In-house Red Cross history noted that Drew's report "had brought together, for the benefit of hematologists working everywhere, the latest knowledge acquired by scientists working in several different fields." It was a remarkable synthesis of research studies (both commercial and academic), clinical tests, and the practical experience gained from blood bank operations here and abroad. The Importance of Plasma Donation In contrast to whole blood donation, plasma donation may be done much more often (three times per week in some jurisdictions, compared to once per eight weeks for whole blood donation), because the whole blood cells are returned to the body during the donation process, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Most plasma is naturally replaced by the body within 48 hours. In some jurisdictions, and in contrast to whole blood donation, plasma donors may be compensated financially ($10–$100 per week for three to seven hours of time, normally). It is usually defined as a compensation for time and trouble rather than a "purchase" or "sale" of a body part, for various legal, ethical and cultural reasons. Starting the National Blood Donor Service and Bloodmobiles Drew used Blood for Britain as a model for a three-month Red Cross pilot program to mass-produce dried plasma in New York. In February 1941, he became assistant director for this pilot program, which in turn became the model for the National Blood Donor Service. During this trial, Drew introduced the use of mobile collection units (later called "bloodmobiles.") By the time he returned to Howard University in April 1941, Drew's reputation as a blood plasma pioneer and "father of the blood bank" was growing, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Drew never claimed these titles himself, despite his substantial contributions, always noting that it took the combined efforts of many people to make the massive wartime project succeed. Dried Plasma's Crucial Use in War The armed forces developed a dried plasma package, as it would reduce breakage and make the transportation, packaging and storage much simpler. The resulting dried plasma package came in two tin cans containing 400 cc bottles. One bottle contained enough distilled water to reconstitute the dried plasma contained within the other bottle. In about three minutes, the plasma would be ready to use and could stay fresh for around four hours. By the end of the war, the American Red Cross had provided enough blood for over 6 million plasma packages. Racism in Blood Collection Ironically, considering the essential part that an African-American played in its success, the national blood collection project was sullied by racism from the start. The U.S. National Library of Medicine said the donations and plasma for Blood for Britain had been segregated, on the assumption that the British would prefer this. The Red Cross pilot project, at the insistence of the armed forces, excluded Black donors. This policy was maintained when the National Blood Donor Service officially began in November 1941, provoking protests from the Black press and the NAACP, among others. In January 1942, the Red Cross announced that it would accept blood from Black donors, but would segregate it. Drew objected to this policy. He said there was no scientific evidence of any difference between blood of different races, and the policy was insulting to African-Americans. Drew Quits Blood Effort Some accounts, such as a history written by the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, say Drew was outraged by this racist policy, and resigned his post in protest after only a few months. But the U.S. National Library of Medicine claims there is no evidence that this blood exclusion policy was Drew's reason for leaving the pilot program and not continuing on to direct the national project. The U.S. National Library of Medicine suggests he missed his family and was eager to return home. Moreover, he had always expected to return to his faculty duties at Howard and pursue his long-range plan to establish a first-rate surgical program there. Legend Grows After His Death Drew fell asleep at the wheel on the road with three colleagues, on their way to a free clinic in Tuskegee, Alabama, and his car rolled over near Burlington, North Carolina. Drew was half out of the car, his right leg caught in the pedals, as the car rolled, crushing his chest, breaking his neck and tearing up one leg. His companions escaped serious injury. They all were taken to nearby Alamance General Hospital. What happened next is a matter of dispute. It is widely believed that he ironically bled to death because he was refused treatment at an all-white hospital, or was even denied a transfusion. But the U.S. National Library of Medicine claims three white physicians worked to save Drew's life. They gave him transfusions; they consulted by phone with doctors at the Duke University Medical Center, 25 miles away. But several hours later, with his major blood vessels ruptured and other serious injuries, Drew died. National Library of Medicine Says Drew Wasn't a Victim Historian Spencie Love has noted in her analysis of the Drew legend, One Blood: the Death and Resurrection of Charles R. Drew, that the facts of Drew's premature death were bent and blended together with the stories of genuine victims of medical segregation, to convey an underlying message about the consequences of racial prejudice. The U.S. National Library of Medicine suggests the legend hardly does justice to Drew, a man who achieved so much before he died and who worked to undo racial discrimination by demanding excellence of himself and of his students, without ever embracing the role of victim.

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