Retiree gives 32 gallons of blood
Gordon McNeil settled into his favorite chair Thursday morning and prepared to open a vein.
Nothing unusual about that.
For more than 48 years, the Hayden man has donated blood as often as he’s been allowed.
Every 56 days or so, he shows up at the Inland Northwest Blood Center in Coeur d’Alene, ready to give again.
This week, McNeil passed a milestone.
The plastic bag tucked into a cooler by technician Misty Frazier marked 256 pints – 32 gallons – of blood donated by the Kaiser retiree.
“It’s just to know that I’m helping people,” said McNeil, 72, who began giving blood when he was 21.
“It’s just to give part of myself to help people.”
Organizers figure that every pint of donated blood helps three people with whole blood or its components – red blood cells, platelets and plasma.
That means 768 people can thank McNeil for his O-positive contribution to their well-being.
“It’s a pretty awesome thing to see his dedication,” Frazier said.
McNeil started his stretch of donations as a way to save money.
He wanted to join the Coeur d’Alene Eagles service club, and they waived the fee for blood donors.
“If you gave five pints for a year, you got free membership,” said McNeil, who still belongs to the group: “They’ve been paying my dues for all these years, so why not?”
It hasn’t always been easy to maintain his contributions.
McNeil worked 40 years for Kaiser and raised four sons along the way.
Still, he managed to avoid illness and apathy, the twin enemies of blood donation nationwide.
In fact, McNeil has become a vocal advocate for the cause. He’s quick to point out that the local blood center requires 150 pints a day to supply more than 30 regional hospitals.
“Why don’t you donate today?” he asked a visitor. “I try to recruit everybody I can.”
McNeil’s consistency and generosity have earned him the top spot on the new wall plaque that hangs in the blood center foyer.
His 32 gallons are a singular feat in North Idaho, but he has been edged out for the system-wide top spot.
Harry Pearson, 92, of Spokane, holds that record, with 303 pints – nearly 38 gallons – to his credit.
And neither McNeil nor Pearson has reached the “Most Blood Donated” mark logged by Guinness World Records. That honor belongs to Maurice Creswick of South Africa, according to the Guinness Web site.
At age 59, he donated his 336th unit of blood – 41.5 gallons – in July 2003. No word on his contributions since then.
For his part, McNeil hopes to reach the 40-gallon donation mark. In the meantime, he works hard to stay healthy.
“I don’t drink coffee, I don’t drink booze,” he said.
It’s a good thing, too. McNeil lost his Kaiser pension, which was replaced with a federal buyout plan.
His health benefits are limited to VEBA, the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association.
His wife, Ivy, 62, has none.
“We just hope nothing happens,” he said.