On January 16, 1941, Dr. Charles Richard Drew, an African American physician and medical researcher, helped establish one of the first large-scale blood banks at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. His work during World War II saved thousands of lives. Dr. Drew developed innovative techniques for storing blood plasma and organized the first large-scale blood bank efforts, which later served as a model for the American Red Cross blood bank system. Despite his groundbreaking contributions, he later resigned from the Red Cross when it insisted on segregating blood by race—a practice he strongly opposed.
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