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Thousands of Americans Donated Blood During WWII, But Black Donors Were Turned Away
The military feared White soldiers would rather die than accept black blood.
Until the 1930s, blood transfusions were only able to be performed at the location the blood was donated. Even though researchers realized that blood transfusions were the only way to prevent shock and subsequent death from blood loss, there was no reliable way to transport blood across long distances.
In 1939, Dr. Charles Drew created the technology that allowed donated blood to be stored and transported for up to two months. He realized plasma could be separated from blood cells and preserved separately.
When needed for a transfusion it could be returned to it’s original state through reconstitution. His revolutionary research earned him a Doctor of Science in Medicine — the first African American to ever do so. He was recruited to set up and run a blood donation and transfusion program during WWII called “Blood for Britain”. Under his leadership this program collected blood from 15,000 Americans (of all races) over five months to provide much needed blood to soldiers fighting against German forces.
In February of 1941, before America entered the conflict the US Navy and the US Army along with the…
