TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - 84-year-old Harold Mendenhall from Florida had donated 100 gallons of blood throughout his life and he admitted that regularly donating his blood has helped him stay healthy.
For him, that was an astounding achievement as he did not expect that he had donated that much blood throughout his lifetime. "For some reasons, I'm still here and I'm grateful. This is one of the reasons I keep donating," Mendenhall said, as quoted saying by Medical Daily, Friday, 31 May 2013.
Mendenhall, an O-positive universal donor, donated blood for the first time on July 7, 1977, after his wife Frankie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died 7 years later. However, he continued his habit of donating blood. Every year, he donated an average of 6 gallons of blood.
As of April 2013, Mendenhall had donated exactly 100 gallons of blood over the course of 400 donations in the past 36 years - enough to fill the gas tanks of eight Honda Civics. "Giving blood can only be done by a human being, so that's been my payback for my career and my good health and all the blessings I've had," said Mendenhall, who helped develop the engines of SR 71 Blackbird spy planes used throughout the Cold War.
Mendenhall admitted that donating 100 gallons of blood over the past decades has helped him stay healthy. "It's like getting a check-up every two weeks," said Mendenhall.
MEDICAL DAILY | AMIRULLAH