Charles Richard Drew Myth

Words: 543
Pages: 3

When I saw this prompt, the first thing that came to my mind was the story of Doctor Charles Richard Drew. Dr. Drew is often known as the Father of Blood Banks. During World War II, he created a way to separate plasma from blood. Plasma can be stored for longer periods of time than whole blood, which enabled the hospitals to save many lives that might not have been otherwise saved (Biography.com Editors).
All of the previous information is true. The false information all surrounds his death. Dr. Drew died on the first of April, 1950. He was killed in a horrific car accident. However, a myth was spread that he died because the white hospital gave him subpar care and refused him blood transfusions. This is not the truth. In actuality, the doctor’s injuries were simply too severe, and included “a nearly severed leg, massive chest injuries, a broken neck, brain damage, and complete blockage of the blood flow to his heart (Pilgrim).” The hospital he went to did not even have a blood bank (Gordon). Even today, his chances of survival would be slim. However, this myth was one that contained a grain of truth, as many African-Americans
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This is actually a fairly popular myth, so there are many sources devoted to debunking it. What concerns me is how many people are willing to believe this without checking for facts. According to Dahlberg “Many commentators see in Internet communication the possibility of a radical extension of the public sphere.” He is correct. The Internet opens up many different sources fro information. This is made worse by Tosca’s statement that “The digitalization of all content and the convergence of media into digital multiplatforms are the everyday reality of our readers (Tosca),” because it points out that the Internet is a source that we are very used to. Thus, it concerns me that people do not use the multitude of information available to