Black History Month: A scientific innovator

Portrait of Charles Drew in a laboratory wearing a lab coat.

Dr. Charles Drew was arguably one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. His crowning achievement was organizing America’s first large-scale blood bank. He was also the first African American surgeon selected as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. The techniques he used for blood storage enabled medics to save thousands of soldiers’ lives during World War II and continue to influence medical practices today.