A Region 8 man has been donating platelets for over 35 years, and all of those donations have had a huge impact on not only his life, but the lives of anyone who has received his donation.
Leonard McDaniel is well known, and very appreciated, at the Red Cross donation center on Grant Avenue in Jonesboro.
“It’s been probably 35 years or better, I’m approaching my 60 gallon,” said McDaniel.
That means 35 years of donating platelets almost every other week.
Platelet donations are very different from whole blood donations.
The Manager of Collections at Red Cross, Homer Gifford, said donations take about two hours, and the platelets don’t last as long as regular blood.
“After processing, they only have about three days’ shelf life, so it’s really important that we’re continually getting lots of platelets come in,” said Gifford.
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