Frank Sargent recently reached a milestone more than 40 years in the making. He became a 25-gallon blood donor, and he’s already on his way to the next gallon.
Sargent gave his first pint in 1979 after a friend invited him to participate in a blood drive that the friend’s employer was hosting.
“My mother had just died and she had needed blood, so I thought I’d try it,” Sargent said. “It wasn’t bad, and my blood flows real fast, so it only took about 10 minutes.”
When the next blood drive came around, Sargent went to that one too, and just kept donating. He gives at the Elks Club in Albion now, because he’s familiar with it and the people are nice, he said.
Donors can only give blood every two months, and Sargent, 77, has no plans to stop, as long as they’ll take him.
Since reaching the 25-gallon mark, he has already given his first pint toward the 26th gallon.
“That’s 201 pints,” he said.
Recently, Sargent was presented with a certificate and pin from American Red Cross.
A lifelong resident of Medina, Sargent worked at Owens-Illinois in Brockport, Abex in Medina, Fisher-Price for 25 years, where he had 21 years of perfect attendance, and St. Gobain in Albion for 13 years, 11 of which his attendance was perfect attendance. He had three children with his wife Beverly, who died in 2005, and he has a grandson in Buffalo who donates blood.
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