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Father of Blood Banking
SCURLOCK STUDIO RECORDS/ARCHIVE CENTER/NMAH/BEHRING CENTER/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
LIFESAVING LEGACY: Dr. Charles Drew saved millions of lives by developing a new method for storing blood.
January is National Blood Donor Month, when people 17 and older are encouraged to donate blood. Doctors use the donations for transfusions to provide blood to patients undergoing surgery, suffering from illnesses, or who have been in an accident. This treatment wouldn’t be possible without Dr. Charles Drew, a Black surgeon who pioneered groundbreaking techniques for blood storage in the 1930s.
Drew invented a process for separating out plasma—the liquid portion of blood—and freezing it. This extended its shelf life from two weeks to several months. “Charles Drew’s impact on modern medicine is almost immeasurable,” says Yvette Miller, the current executive medical director of the American Red Cross.
TAKING A STAND: In 1942, Charles Drew was told to keep blood from Black and white donors separate. In protest, he quit his job as the medical director for the Red Cross.
Every person has one of eight different blood types, determined by molecules on the surface of their red blood cells. Individuals can only receive specific blood types, usually the one that matches their own. Which blood type is the rarest?
SOURCE: AMERICAN RED CROSS