Dan Graustein has been donating blood since the 1970s.
“It’s the most important thing that I do because it has potential of saving somebody’s life,” he said.
It all started at the University of Michigan.
“In 1974, there’s a blood competition between Michigan and Ohio State, same week that the football game is, and they compete on who can donate more blood,” he said.
READ: COVID-19 plasma shortage: Donors could win trip to Super Bowl next year
READ: American Red Cross hosting blood drive in Metro Detroit this week
Graustein remembers Ohio State winning the competition that year; however, the experience of giving blood to save a life won him over.
“I’m over 400 donations and 67 gallons of blood,” he said.
He said that in the past, the American Red Cross would donate your blood to one individual person.
“They called me up to donate. Two days before donating, they called me up and told me that person had expired. That kind of meant that this was pretty important,” he said.
Now as technology has evolved, blood donations can go to multiple people with a variety of needs.
And at 64 years old, Graustein has no plans to stop his donating routine.
“I have donated white blood cells, plasma platelets,” he said. “I feel a responsibility to donate as much as I can.”