CF&I Women of WWIIMain MenuThe Spirit of 1942The Spark Plug ClubThe Nail RoomGoils Make CoilsFemale InspectorsFirst female inspectors, 1946Minnequa School of NursingSally ThompsonWanted for Victory!Giving Money to Uncle Sam"Oh for the Life of a Marine"CartoonsVictory Canning and GardeningThe Steel YBlood DriveTruck DriversVictoria Miller39460033159c0605b61f802e1d65a3994bef40b3Steelworks Center of the West
12016-04-12T11:06:03-07:00Blood Drive8plain2016-04-23T11:37:40-07:00 Learned the hard way during World War I, most fatalities on the battlefield occurred not from the direct physical damage of bullet wounds inflicted on a solider, but from subsequent loss of blood. As another war seemed inevitable some 20 years later, finding a way to replace lost blood became a medical priority.
Edwin Cohn, a Harvard biochemist, discovered a technique of breaking down blood plasma to isolate a protein called albumin. This protein could be stored for long periods without spoiling, shipped efficiently and used easily on a battlefield to save lives.
CF&I’s own Corwin hospital employed nurses and physicians to work dozens of Blood Drives throughout the War. In the spring of 1944, Corwin Hospital nursing staff managed a three day long blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross. CF&I set and met an ambitious goal to collect 25,000 pints of blood over the course of the three days.
