The Life of African American Pioneer, Dr.Charles Richard Drew

Charles Richard Drew was a pioneer as a medical physician who made a drastic contribution to the medical surgery practice called the blood transfusion. Even though he was the inventor of the procedure, he did not benefit from it financially and, ironically, died from not getting the very thing he invented. Charles Drew was born in 1904, in Washington, D.C. He was the eldest of five children, Elsie, Joseph, Nora, and Eva. Elsie was born when Charles was two, Joseph was born in 1909, Nora in 1913, and Eva in 1921. His parents were Nora and Richard Drew.

All throughout Charles' academic career, he was involved greatly in sports and was a tough competitor. He played football, ran track, and swam. He received many awards as all around athlete. While he was in high school, and at the peak of his athletic career, his sister, Elsie, died of tuberculosis. This tragedy ignited him in a desire to help others by becoming a doctor(Charles R. Drew). After high school, Charles Drew applied to two colleges.

The first was Howard University, and the second was McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Howard, his first choice, decided against him because they said that he did not earn the required number of English credits at Amherst High School. Instead, Howard offered him a job as an assistant football coach and he declined. Then at McGill, his second choice accepted him immediately, finding his credentials satisfactory(Charles Richard). While at McGill University, Drew won a membership into the Medical Honorary Society. He had become interested in the research of blood at this school.

He graduated from McGill in 1933 and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery. Charles then was an intern at Royal Victoria Hospital and at Montreal General Hospital for a year. In 1934 he became a resident of medicine at Montreal General Hospital, where he researched the chemistry of blood with his former professor from McGill,