![Al Fischer, who is about to donate a pint of blood which will give him a total of 40 gallons donated, in a blood processing lab at Long Island Blood Services on Monday, August 31, 2009 in Westbury, New York. [Photo credit: Howard Schnapp]](http://www.vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/fisher.jpg "fisher")
Woodbury, NY – A Long Island man is giving his 320th pint of blood this week — making him one of just two people in the U.S. who has given 40 gallons.
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Massapequa resident Al Fischer plans to reach the milestone on Tuesday, 58 years after he started giving blood.
The 75-year-old is second in blood donations only to 83-year-old Maurice Wood, a retired railroad inspector from Saint Louis.
Fischer, a print shop operator who plans to give his blood in Woodbury, donates about six times a year. He says he and Wood are engaged in a friendly rivalry and speak to each other.
Long Island Blood Services executive director Harvey Schaffler says Fischer has helped almost 1,000 people.
Long Island Blood Services is a division of the New York Blood Center, which requires nearly 2,000 each day to donate blood in order to maintain an adequate supply.
Kiddush Hashem
What a wonderful gift and wonderful example.
Everyone – please donate if you are medically eligible.
tizke l’mitzvos, you are a hero, anyone that can give blood should it is such a huge and easy mizvah.
if everyone, able to give blood, would do so on a regular basis, there would be no blood bank shortage.
Noow THATS what i call an ASKAN!
its also supposed to be healthy
What a wonderful thing to do. A number of years ago I heard of a man, Todd Woodworth, from Newburyport, Mass. who had also donated some massive amount of blood to the Red Cross–I wonder if he is still alive and how much he has donated. In any case, may you always be blessed for all that you have done
My father likely donated more. Instead of 6 times a year he gave 12 times a year. he had thick blood due to a condtion called polysythema vera and his red blood cell count was always rising so he donated to lower his RBC count. Originally they were happy to get it for use on anemic patients. However about 25 years ago some genius decided “perhaps there is something in this abnormally thick (high RBC count) blood that might cause a disease in 30 years from now. So they no longer used the blood. they disposed it and actually charged my father for this blood letting treatment. My father simply went to different bloodbanks and when they said “Gee! You have really thick blood.” My father would simply raise his eyebrows and say “Oh, really?” .