Black Inventors Who Changed The World: Dr. Charles R. Drew

Today, the Red Cross is fighting on the front lines to eradicate the coronavirus, and it was the invention of Dr. Charles R. Drew that gave the Red Cross a lifesaving technique. Dr. Drew invented the first blood bank in America and Great Britain. Through blood transfusion research, the amazing doctor developed a groundbreaking technique to store blood plasma.

At the start of World War II, Dr. Drew was asked to head the medical program "Blood for Britain," which served as the model for the 1941 Red Cross pilot program. Using his technique of long-term blood preservation and storage, or blood banking, he helped save the lives of thousands of allied soldiers.

Dr. Drew would later serve as the director of Red Cross and head of the National Blood Donor Service, helping mass produce lifesaving plasma overseas as the war ragged on. Before long, he invented blood mobiles, which consisted of mobile blood donation trucks with onboard refrigeration. This cemented his claim to fame as Father of the Blood Bank. Learn more about this live-saving pioneer below.