Dr. Charles Drew and his Blood Mobiles
On March 17, 2020, the American Red Cross announced on their website that the United States will face a severe blood shortage as we continue to struggle under the coronavirus outbreak. The reason why is because the Red Cross is experiencing blood drive cancellations. The cancellations make sense. Workplaces and campuses in schools do not want people Gathering to donate blood. However, all the cancellations have led to a drop and blood donations. The number, to be exact, is 86,000 donations.
The Red Cross is implementing steps to ensure the safety and well-being of all those who donate blood. They are now checking the temperatures of staff and donors. They provide hand sanitizer, their spacing the beds apart, and they are continually disinfecting the equipment.
These recent developments in blood drives are the loosening of restrictions for gay blood donors. It is a shame that we have to loosen restrictions, as restrictions did not even need to be in place. Before anybody donates blood, individuals are screened for infectious diseases, including HIV. HIV shows up in the blood typically nine days after someone has been infected with it. Moreover, that goes for all people, whether they are gay or not. As a result, LGBTQ communities are saying that the wait time is completely unnecessary. And, they are correct. Healthy blood is healthy blood. Though our blood is not all the same, it is all-important. What makes it essential is the plasma that is in our blood.
The segregation of blood is precisely why, in 1942, Dr. Charles R. Drew, one of the original developers in banking blood, resigned from his position as appointed Director of the first American Red Cross blood bank in charge of blood for use by the Navy and the Army.
Dr. Charles R. Drew was a brilliant African American physician and a pioneer in blood preservation. He was born on June 3, 1904, in Washington, D.C. He was an athlete involved in all of the sports in high school. He swam, played football, basketball, and other sports. As a result, he was able to earn a sports scholarship to Amherst College, where he continued to play in sports, ultimately earning the Mossman trophy.
When he graduated college, he wanted to go to medical school, but he did not have the money. Thus, he worked as a biology instructor and coach for Morgan College in Baltimore. Finally, in 1928, when he applied to medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he was accepted. At McGill, he became Alpha Omega Alpha scholar and one the J. Francis Williams Fellowship. While at McGill, he had developed a strong interest in transfusion and transfusion therapy. After graduating and receiving his medical degree, he worked as a faculty instructor and pathology at Howard University. In 1938, he was awarded a two-year Rockefeller Fellowship in Surgery, where he began his post-graduate work. His research included diagnosing and controlling shock through fluid balance, blood chemistry, preservation, and transfusion.
Because of Dr. Drew, we now have blood banks. His doctoral thesis was titled Banked Blood: A Study in Blood Preservation. His work and research make him an expert in his field, setting the stage for his expertise. You see, Dr. Drew had discovered a method for the long-term storage of blood plasma.
Plasma is a clear yellow liquid that contains proteins. It also contains electrolytes that helped to carry blood cells for the body. Interestingly, plasma can also be used as a blood substitute to replace fluids. What dr. Drew had discovered is that plasma can last longer than the whole container of blood without Refrigeration. If the container that it sits in is disturbed, it will not deteriorate the structure of the plasma. Plasma can also be used with any blood type, it does not transmit diseases, and it can be injected into the veins, the muscles the skin in large doses. It is ideal for emergency situations. His findings were essential and critical to saving lives.
During World War II, blood was desperately needed. In Britain, Dr. John Scudder developed a program called plasma for Britain. He had recruited Dr. Drew to serve as the medical doctor of the United States blood for Britain program.
Dr. Drew was in charge of creating a process for blood storage and preservation.
He needed to collect and test and transport large quantities of blood plasma to distribute throughout the United Kingdom. He came up with this idea to open blood banks and store the blood in blood mobiles, which allowed for refrigerated blood storage, preservation, and transportation.
Dr. Drew had a central location where people could go and give blood. He hired skilled doctors and nurses to work with the blood plasma. He then tested the blood plasma before he shipped it out.
After five months, almost 15,000 people had donated blood because of his efforts, and they had gathered over 5,500 vials of blood plasma.
Moreover, he was appointed as the Director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank because of his successful efforts. As a black American, he grew frustrated with the legalities of the U.S. Army and Navy. You see, authorities were restricting African Americans from donating blood. Dr. Drew never stopped fighting for this cause. Finally, the Navy and the Army started to accept African-Americans’ blood for the plasma supply networks. However, though this was a promising step for the medical industry, the Armed Forces ruled in 1942 that African Americans’ blood would have to be stored separately from that of whites. Dr. Drew had argued and advocated for the desegregation of blood because this plasma was an essential human need. He knew that lives were at stake, and segregation only hindered the advancement of science. Yet, the Navy and the army still could not get past their biases.
That was when Dr. Drew resigned from his post. His actions were justified. The Navy and the Army missed their opportunity to work with one of the most outstanding medical scientists in the United States. Sadly, the Navy and the Army continued to segregate blood. Some centers even refused donors because they were black. The segregation continued until 1950, except for in Louisiana, where they finally banned blood segregation in 1972.
Dr. Drew was a commendable surgeon. After his resignation, he went on to work as a surgeon at Freedmen’s hospital and as a professor of medicine at Howard University between 1942 and 1950.
In 1944, the NAACP awarded him the Spingarn Medal for his work with the British and American blood banking projects. Then in 1945, Virginia State College presented him with an honorary doctorate of Science. In 1947, Amherst, his alma mater, presented him with another honorary doctorate in science.
On April 1, 1950, while driving with three of his colleagues to an annual meeting of the John Andrews Association in Tuskegee, Alabama, his vehicle hit the soft shoulder of the road, and his car overturned. His passengers survived. However, Dr. Drew did not survive. There is a story that he passed away because he could not get a blood transfusion because he was black. This story is false. Sadly, he passed away due to extensive loss of blood and critical injuries.
Even after his passing, his name lived on. His home was designated as a National Historic Landmark. The United States Postal Service honored him, schools have been named after him, and a United States Navy ship has been named after him. Also, in 2002, he was listed as one of the 100 greatest African Americans. His work was extensive. Most importantly, his work was meaningful. He has saved lives and worked to end segregation in science. In his lifetime, he stood at the intersection between race and blood and reasoned for the simple need of saving lives.
It is fascinating how human bias and prejudice can hinder the development of science and hurt society. Especially in these times as we struggle through a pandemic. The current state of the world is not good. People are dying. And these people are all around the world. People are losing their grandparents, their parents, and their children. It does not matter what color their skin is or what their racial background is. They should not be dying. Moreover, in the middle of this pandemic, Asian communities live with unnecessary vitriol when, as humans, we should be banding together and helping people as much as possible.
We are now asking ourselves what defines essential and non-essential. During a pandemic, you would think that the most non-essential emotion and belief system within a human is prejudice. It is my hope, during this incredibly challenging time that all humans can finally come to understand that the two most essential emotions and belief systems that we can hold within our hearts are tolerance and human compassion.