Blood donor crosses rare lifetime 100-gallon mark

Bill Pooley is a regular blood donor, and he’s just become one of the only people in the world to donate 100 gallons of blood in his lifetime.

For context, 100 gallons is the same as all the blood in the body of about 80 healthy adults. That’s seven times as much as the average car gas tank, or six and a half kegs of beer. It’s enough to fill up a standard size bathtub, two and a half times over.

Pooley says his son was born with a heart problem, and that’s what inspired him to start giving blood, and he’s done it ever since.

“I think it’s great that I manage to keep coming that long and keep donating that long,” he told Fox 13 Tampa. “I’m healthy and well and I can help other people.”

Because Pooley is blind, he says that donating blood is one of the most sensible ways for him to volunteer, and that’s why he’s been coming back again and again since 1979: twice a month, every month. 

This week he might have crossed a big milestone, but next week he’ll be right back at it.