Editing Charles R. Drew (section)

== Blood for Britain ==
In late 1940, before the U.S. entered [[World War II]] and just after earning his doctorate, Drew was recruited by [[John Scudder (physician)|John Scudder]] to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. Here Drew was able to apply his thesis to aid in the blood preservation and transportation. He was to collect, test, and transport large quantities of [[blood plasma]] for distribution in the United Kingdom.<ref name="plasma">{{cite book
  | last      = Starr
  | first     = Douglas P.
  | title     = Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce
  | location  = New York
  | publisher = Quill
  | year      = 2000
  | isbn      = 0688176496
}}</ref>  Drew understood that plasma extraction from blood required both [[centrifugation]] and liquid extraction. Each extraction was conducted under controlled conditions to eliminate risk of contamination. Air concealment, ultraviolet light and [[Thiomersal|Merthiolate]] were all used to mitigate the possibility of plasma contamination.<ref name=":1"/>
[[File:(Plasma transfer pack and extractor apparatus) (4645104328).jpg|thumb|Plasma transfusion package and extractor used to collect plasma from donors]]
Drew went to New York City as the medical director of the United States' Blood for Britain project. It was here that Drew helped set the standard for other hospitals donating blood plasma to Britain by ensuring clean transfusions along with proper [[Asepsis|aseptic technique]] to ensure viable plasma dispersals were sent to Britain.<ref name=":3"/> The Blood for Britain project was a project to aid British soldiers and civilians by giving U.S. blood to the United Kingdom.

Drew created a central location for the blood collection process where donors could go to give blood. He made sure all blood plasma was tested before it was shipped out. He ensured that only skilled personnel handled blood plasma to avoid the possibility of contamination. The Blood for Britain program operated successfully for five months, with total collections of almost 15,000 people donating blood, and with over 5,500 vials of blood plasma.<ref name="plasma"/> As a result, the Blood Transfusion Betterment Association applauded Drew for his work.