Segregating Blood
With U.S. involvement in World War II imminent, the Red Cross was tasked with organizing a blood donor program that could be used in the event of American casualties. The Red Cross recruited noted physician Dr. Charles Drew to head the program and devise a method of processing blood into dried plasma on a large scale.
Drew rose to the occasion and soon began opening collection centers across the United States. However, his tenure was short-lived. When the Army instructed the Red Cross to begin segregating blood from Black donors, Drew, an African American, resigned from his post, citing the lack of scientific basis for such a request.