Après Ethics: James Robb, BA'51, BCL'54, Alumni Association President, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., the Charles R. Drew Visiting Professor, and Dennis Barrett, coach of McGill's track and cross-country teams, recall Charles Drew's athletic careerINSET: Dr. Charles R. Drew

One of McGill's most famous American graduates, Charles Drew, MD'33, was honoured by the Faculty of Medicine with a new visiting professorship. Drew came to McGill in 1929 to study medicine after racism kept him out of American medical schools. After graduation, he worked as a resident and intern at McGill teaching hospitals and pioneered methods of storing blood for transfusions. He was also an exceptional athlete, and captain of McGill's track team in 1931.

Dr. Drew eventually returned to the U.S., where he discovered that blood plasma, a clear fluid without red blood cells, could be stored much longer than blood and could be given to anyone regardless of blood type. In September 1940, he organized and led the Blood for Britain project that supplied plasma to troops in World War II, and fought against the segregation of blood from white and black donors. He died tragically in a car accident at the age of 45.

To initiate the visiting professorship, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., president of the American College of Surgeons and the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard University in Washington, spoke on "Ethics in the Practice of Medicine." After the presentation, sponsored by Medicine and the McGill Alumni Association, the party moved to Martlet House, where participants were met by generous tables of refreshments. The next day, Dr. Leffall spoke on "Evolution in the Management of Breast Cancer" at the Royal Victoria.