Jim began donating blood in the 1970s when he was in the Navy. It wasn’t until years later that he learned just how vital his blood donations are.

“When I found out the importance of O-negative blood and how rare it is, I just started donating all the time to help people,” Jim said.

People with O-negative blood are universal red cells donors, meaning their red blood cells can be transfused to any patient, regardless of blood type. Only 7% of the population is O-negative, so every donation matters.

When seconds count, emergency room doctors often do not have time to determine the blood type of the patient and will depend on O-negative blood to help save lives in these situations. In 2023, Jim experienced this firsthand.

“I had a seizure and went through a red light,” he said. “I got in a bad accident, and I was on life support for two weeks. I was in the hospital for 33 days. After all these years that I’ve been giving, I needed O-negative blood. That’s the only blood I could take. I can give my blood to anybody, but I can only take O-negative.”

That car accident was a full-circle moment for Jim. He’s grateful because he knows the blood he needed was only available thanks to other blood donors like him.

“I needed O-negative blood to save my life,” he said. “I was purple from internal bleeding. The thing that saved me was the donations from people like me"

His personal experience only strengthened his resolve to donate regularly. Every 56 days, he’s in the chair at his local OneBlood Donor Center. While he jokes with the staff that he’s only there for the cookies (oatmeal raisin and peanut butter are his favorites), everyone knows the truth.

“My impact is over 200 lives so far,” Jim said. “I’m at more than 9 gallons, and I’m shooting for 10. After that, I think I’ll just keep going.”