Blacks Who Should Have Won Nobel Prizes
2. Charles Drew (1904-1950)
Nobel Prize in Medicine
No doubt, Charles Drew saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with his significant contributions to blood preservation. As one of the world’s leading authorities on blood, he revolutionized the understanding of plasma, leading to the creation of blood banks. He headed the American Red Cross blood bank, but when the military ordered that only Caucasian blood be given to soldiers, he resigned. Racist authorities considered “Negro blood” to be impure, and believed that “white blood” would not contaminate or pollute as “black blood” might. Thus, the blood of whites would be collected, while the blood from blacks would not be. This meant Drew’s own blood could not be donated even though he headed the program.
