Tracy, an engineer, recently hit the 10-gallon donation mark and puts it into perspective, “The average adult has 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood, so 10 gallons is certainly a “wow” factor,” he says. Each time he donates he marks his next eligible date in his calendar and says, “I’m usually back within that week.”

Tracy began giving blood to help his dad.  “My dad had quite a few surgeries where he needed some blood, so I started giving and I haven’t stopped,” he says. During his 13 years of donating, Tracy estimates he’s journeyed to the blood center about 80 times.