It's impossible to determine how many people would have lost their lives without the contribution of African-American inventor Dr Charles Drew. Charles Drew was born on June 3, 1904, in Washington, DC. His early interest was in education, but he was also an outstanding athlete. While in college, he was awarded as the man who contributed the most to sports during his four years in school. Drew's sister Elsie suffered from tuberculosis  and died in 1920. Her death influenced his decision to study medicine. After becoming a doctor and working as a college instructor, Drew went to Columbia University, where he earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree. During this time he became involved in research on blood and blood transfusions. At Columbia, he wrote a paper on "banked blood", in which he described a technique he developed for the long-term preservation of blood plasma. Before his discovery, blood could not be stored for more than two days because of the rapid breakdown of red blood cells. Drew had discovered that by separating the plasma from the whole blood and then refrigerating them separately, they could be combined a week later for a blood transfusion. Drew became the first African American to receive a PhD in medical science. After World War II broke out, Drew was called upon to put his techniques into practice. He was named a project director for the American Red Cross but soon quit his post after the government issued an order that blood taken from white donors should be separated from that of black donors. On April 1, 1950, after he attended the annual free clinic at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital, he and other three physicians decided to drive back home. As he was tired from spending the night before in the operating room, he lost control of his car. Drew was badly injured and was taken to Alamance General Hospital in Burlington, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead half an hour after he first received medical attention. Drew's funeral was held on April 5, 1950, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC. But contrary to popular thought, he was not refused a blood transfusion by an all-white hospital. He indeed received a transfusion but was beyond the help of the doctors attending to him. As Dr. John Ford, one of the doctors who survived the accident, later explained, "We all received the very best of care. The fact that he was a Black did not in any way limit the care that was given to him." Over the years, Drew has been considered one of the most honored figures in the medical field. According to the passage,   _   might have contributed to the invention of blood banks.
the combination of blood cells the rapid breakdown of red blood cells the development of refrigerating technique the technique of separating plasma from the whole blood