"A countless number of Allied soldiers' lives were saved due to the pioneering efforts of Dr. Charles Richard Drew. This American physician and surgeon studied methods to preserve and store human blood for transfusion. A method to safely store blood was unknown prior to WWII. Drew's efforts resulted in his appointment to oversee the medical division of the British Blood Transfusion Service and the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Though Drew was credited with "life saving" research, bigotry denied him the fruits of his labor. On April 1, 1950, at age 45, he was injured in an automobile accident in North Carolina. In desperate need of a blood transfusion, he was rushed to the nearest hospital -- which turned him away because of his race. He died en route to a hospital for blacks. I like to believe we've come a long way since 1950." [quotation in paper by Jerry Kolins] "Jerry Kollins, M.D., medical director for the Community Blood Bank of [North County]"