this guy rules

[lucas9000]

there is no debating that this guy rocks

oops, apparently registration needed. here's the text of the article:

[ QUOTE ]
75 gallons of blood? No sweat
Warren Wolfe, Star Tribune
April 28, 2005

Robert Nelson has donated so much blood that Red Cross officials in St. Paul had to dig out a recognition pin they don't recall giving out before.

On Wednesday, Nelson, 62, of St. Francis, topped off his 75th gallon.

"It's not hard. It just takes a little time, and it's something I can do to help people," Nelson said after family members and Red Cross officials crowded around his donor bed in a surprise ceremony.

The retired railroad sheet-metal worker began giving blood in 1964 when his mother needed blood because of illness.

In 1989, when he learned of the need, he switched from giving whole blood every two months to donating blood platelets every two weeks, a process that takes about 90 minutes.

Through a process called apheresis, about 6 pints of Nelson's blood is drawn from his left arm, run through a machine that harvests platelets, then returned through his right arm.

The process gathers about 500 milligrams of platelets -- enough for two or three patients -- suspended in a cup of clear blood plasma.

Platelets are tiny particles with sticky surfaces that help blood clot. They are used within five days by patients with bleeding problems from leukemia, bone marrow transplants, surgery or conditions.

"We've got about 4,000 platelet donors, but we think Bob heads the list," said Kathy Gross, who heads the Red Cross apheresis center in St. Paul, one of two in Minnesota. "We could use twice as many."

Nelson's usual 81-mile round trip to the center was a little longer on Wednesday. After giving blood, he drove a cancer patient to a hospital for treatment -- another of his volunteer activities.

"My goal had been to give 55 gallons -- the equivalent to a 55-gallon barrel," Nelson said. "Now I'm shooting for 100 gallons."

Gross said she's ready: "We've got the pin waiting for you, Bob."

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[Yobz]

Good for him, we need more people like him [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Dead]

I was eligible to give blood again like 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the reminder.

[Riskwise]

[ QUOTE ]
Good for him, we need more people like him [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

ya know, you have blood...

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
I was eligible to give blood again like 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the reminder.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope you keep this avatar for awhile. It's a vast improvement.

By the way, Dead. You should try to do this 75 pints thing...






<font color="white"> ...I bet you could do it all at once. </font>

[Lazymeatball]

Would I be considered self-centered because I've never given blood, even when you consider that getting blood drawn from me for medical reasons cause me to feel faint and become nauseas? Needles and blood don't freak me out until they are going into my arm.

[YourFoxyGrandma]

I think giving blood is one's responsibility to the human race. Being afraid of needles isn't really a good excuse. People NEED to do it; there's no way around it.

[StevieG]

That avatar is quite good, but it isn't square to start and gets a bit distorted. Who needs to see the cooler?

Fixed.

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

I think giving blood is one's responsibility to the human race.

[/ QUOTE ]

If the human race will accept it.

I lived in Europe for a couple of years, and thanks to the BSE scare the American Red Cross will not take my blood.

I gave 2 gallons of blood before moving overseas. It's likely I would have given another gallon or more since returning.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
I think giving blood is one's responsibility to the human race.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is hilarious.