National Blood Donor Month: Honoring Donors Who Give Hundreds Of Pints (SLIDESHOW)

Getting stuck with an IV may not seem appealing when you're already braving dropping temperatures and winter's sniffles, but this is precisely the time when blood donation centers need you most.

January marks Blood Donor Month and the season when donations drop significantly, according to the American Red Cross.

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. is in need of blood, according to the nonprofit, and the call for donors is on the rise as road accidents and other cold-weather related issues come up.

If you're in need of a little inspiration to get going to your local blood drive, read through the stories of six super donors who won't let frigid weather or holiday commitments get in the way of their donating hundreds of pints of blood.

Learn more about how to donate blood here.

SLIDESHOW:

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• Dean Willis, Donated 100 Gallons

  When Dean Willis' father-in-law needed blood after getting heart-bypass surgery in 1975, he unhesitatingly stepped in to help, <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/news/Man-donating-100th-gallon-of-blood/-/475880/5402806/-/lh0522/-/" target="_hplink">News4ajax.com reports</a>. Since then, the coveted O-positive blood donor has given 100 gallons of blood and saved 2,000 lives. "I guess it's a cliché, but you know, it makes me feel good," Willis <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/news/Man-donating-100th-gallon-of-blood/-/475880/5402806/-/lh0522/-/" target="_hplink">told the news outlet.</a>

• Paul Olsen, Donated 400 Times

  Paul Olsen, 79, donated his 400th pint of blood in August, according to <a href="http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2011/08/18/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc4e4b20f9daada376545870.txt?viewmode=fullstory" target="_hplink">Mainlinemedianews.com. </a> The Pennsylvania native donates platelets, which is key to helping cancer patients, and gives twice a month. "I really feel good [about giving] because it helps other people," Olsen told the news outlet. He hopes to ultimately hit his 500-pint goal.

• Warren Krup, Donated 200 Times

  Honored with the "Golden Heart Award" from the Heartland Blood Centers for having donated blood 200 times, Warren Krup continues to give, despite a disability. "I get to sit and take a break, and it saves a life," the 52-year-old Illinois native told the <em><a href="http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/9584873-418/elgin-mans-200th-blood-donation-gives-inspiration.html" target="_hplink">Courier News.</a></em> "Why wouldn't you want to do that?"

• Sparkle, Donates Once A Month

  About 40 percent of dogs are universal donors, making Sparkle, a California-based rescue Greyhound, a critical lifesaver for pooches in need. "For every unit of blood that she gives, she will help at least two other dogs," Mary Beth Bartel, Sparkle's owner, <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/health/health_watch&id=8358508" target="_hplink">told ABC. </a> Sparkle donates once a month and her name is included on a 24-hour emergency call list.

• Ralph "Rocco" Russo, Donated 300 Times

  When Ralph "Rocco" Russo hit his 300th donation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, nurses honored him with a cake, <a href="http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/30096787/detail.html#ixzz1iwIKvDg5" target="_hplink">the Boston Channel reports.</a> But, the true reward for Russo is knowing that he's helped save hundreds of lives, including Nicole Sorensen, who battled -- and overcame -- cancer when she was 14. "People will give once. People will give twice," Sorensen told the news outlet. "But to give 300 times every other week religiously is incredibly moving."

• Barbara Brinkmann, Donating Since She Was 16

  Barbara Brinkmann has been donating blood since she was 16-years old, <a href="http://www.kens5.com/home/Blood-donor-drives-away-with-shiny-new-Toyota-Tundra-pickup-truck-136761323.html" target="_hplink">KENS5 reports </a>. "I do it on a regular basis and I enjoy doing it," <a href="http://www.kens5.com/home/Blood-donor-drives-away-with-shiny-new-Toyota-Tundra-pickup-truck-136761323.html" target="_hplink">Brinkmann told the news source</a>. "It's a wonderful way to give back to the community." For her generosity, the San Antonio, Texas resident was rewarded with a brand new 2012 Toyota Tundra pickup truck. Naturally, it's bright red.

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Comments

[Randall Watters]

08:11 PM on 04/19/2012

[thiton]

09:27 AM on 01/26/2012

TV documentary on the military now wanting to go for bloodless surgery. Hmmm where did they get that idea? Can you guess??

[CarmanC]

02:45 PM on 01/27/2012

thiton -

Blood substitutes and bloodless surgery military and otherwise have noting to do with the Watch Tower and the misrepresented/misinterpreted verses.

It has been by necessity these are developed. Where blood may be needed is far from sources and can not be stored or transported quickly or safely.

[CASnyder]

03:37 AM on 01/26/2012

The gent above who donated 300 times going every other week had to be donating plasma, platelets, or some other component, and getting the rest of his blood back, for if it had been whole blood donations he'd have had to wait the minimum 56 days between. I asked about platelet or plasma donations, but they discourage us O-neg types from doing that because they need our whole blood far worst, since they can give it to anyone safely even if they don't know the recipient's blood type. Still, takes a great commitment of time as well as generosity - Congrats!

[DannyHaszard]

03:39 PM on 01/25/2012

I am Danny Haszard I donate blood for Jehovah's Witnesses who accept blood *components* but are prevented by their Watchtower leaders from donating blood themselves back to the pool.
My 'blood buddy' my wife and I donated just last night at the Bangor Maine Red Cross.We go every 56 days and I have for 19 years.
Learn more about the misunderstood blood ban of the Jehovah Witnesses at our page http://www.freeminds.org

[DannyHaszard]

04:14 PM on 01/25/2012

Jehovah's Witnesses do take blood now!

They take all fractions of blood. This includes hemoglobin, albumin, clotting factors, cryosupernatant and cryopoor too, and many, many, others. If one adds up all the blood fractions the JWs takes, it equals a whole unit of blood. Any, many of these fractions are made from thousands upon thousands of units of donated blood.Jehovah's Witnesses can take Bovine *cow's blood* as long as it is euphemistically called synthetic Hemopure.

Here on Hemopure http://www.ajwrb.org/noblood/hemopure.html
Jehovah's Witnesses also take whole blood, as long as it's called "current therapy." This is something not found in medical literature, per se. But, it is described by the religion as a taking of blood from a person, mixing it with compounds in a lab, and later retransfusing the blood back into the patient. So, it appears that JWs can have their blood separated from their body and later reuse it too.


If this doesn't sound "bloodless" to any of you reading it, it's not. And, the result is that the JWs are questioning their religion's requirement that they not take a blood transfusion. JWs face being shunned if they do take whole blood, red blood, white blood, or plasma. This shunning is severe and is a complete cutting off from their super close community of friends and relatives.

JWs have to choose between this life or the next, and meander through a religion's not very straightforward blood ban.

[dean22]

07:31 AM on 02/01/2012

man get a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are obsessed with something you CAN'T change!!! No matter who much crap you repost its nothing. Imagine what your life would be like if you let go of hate.....

[CASnyder]

03:27 AM on 01/26/2012

Another great reason not to listen to the blandishments of the JW who comes unwelcome to my door at the most inconvenient times and won't listen to you in turn or let you get a word in edgewise. Not my idea of Christ's instructions to be a witness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". As far as I'm concerned, if he needs blood, he can pay for it, or just go on home to God - I won't be rushing out to donate for him.

[javagirl023]

10:21 PM on 01/10/2012

And I thought fifty was a good number, I will have to work harder. I am prettly close to that.

[KadyFox]

12:45 AM on 01/17/2012

Geez! I'm just a pipsqueak. As of today, I'm only at 23 1/2 gallons.

[javagirl023]

09:10 AM on 01/17/2012

Hats off, I am at fifty some odd units, not gallons! You go Kady.
When I was a kid, my brother had his tonsils out then got a cold and ripped his stitches coughing. We were right down the street from the fire station, and fifteen minutes from the hospital, he lost seven units, and nearly bled out. Had we been two minutes further, he would not have made it. So thanks, you really have made a difference!

[danaseilhan]

03:31 PM on 01/10/2012

By the way, a lot of attention is given to O-positive donors and how coveted they are, but the true universal donor is O-negative. We're only about five percent of the population but we're critical for Rh-negative patients so if you've got this type, take good care of yourself and donate once in a while.

[CASnyder]

03:19 AM on 01/26/2012

I'm also O-neg, and its a bit scary to know that if you ever need blood and they don't have any of your rare type on hand, you could be dead meat, no matter how much you gave to others. I donated gallons for years, until I got really annoyed by being turned away 5 of every 6 times I went in to donate after having to wait 45+minutes and do all the endlessly repetitive paperwork before they would take the blood sample and find out that my blood was just a hair too low on their hematocrit scale. As a vegetarian woman, I find their standards which are higher than that required for health to be very difficult to meet consistently. But despite complaining to the American Red Cross, they still won't do the less than 5 min. hematocrit test early on so that the rejects wouldn't have to wait, clogging up their facilities, wasting techs time (and ours), and wasting lots of paperwork. Very inefficient organization, and thus hardly worth my time anymore.

[thebearclaw007]

01:56 PM on 01/10/2012

Thank you so much!