London Donor to Give for 160th Time Sept. 15, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. –  Jerry Kindred, of London,  began donating blood while in the military. Now, almost 20 gallons later, he’s still at it.

At 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 at the Somerset Donor Center, Kindred will make his 160th donation, completing 20 gallons, which is quite an achievement considering donors can give only every 56 days.

The first time Kindred donated blood was during the Korean War when he heard blood donors got a three-day pass. That got his attention.

Then a major told him that blood donation helped to rejuvenate the blood, especially for males.

“It made sense to me,” said Kindred, who added that he also gets a high from donating. “For the first five or six hours after donating, I’m on top of the world.”

Kindred, 69, always encourages others to try donating blood.

“Most people are unaware there is no top-end age restriction,” he said. “Many seniors think they can’t give after age 60.”

Kindred knows his donations are touching a lot of lives.

“I enjoy giving, and I’ve always been told that each pint is helping three people,” Kindred said. “So I know I’ve helped 500 or more people.”

Kentucky Blood Center, serving more than half of Kentucky’s counties, is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a safe, adequate blood supply for patients at nearly 70 Kentucky hospitals and clinics. KBC relies on volunteers to collect 400 units of blood per day to meet area patients’ needs. Over the last year KBC distributed nearly 130,000 blood components.