The Major Donor

Burke is a retired finance professional, so he knows that small numbers can add up to something big over time. In this way, pint after pint across half a century, he wound up donating thirty gallons of blood in his lifetime, something fewer than one percent of donors ever manage. Burke, now seventy-seven years old, made his final donation last fall, and was presented by the Red Cross with a golden droplet-shaped pin recognizing his accomplishment.

Burke, who grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, first agreed to roll up his sleeve when he was asked to by a colleague at the insurance company where he worked in the 1970s. He said he became a regular donor after he learned how few people give blood. According to the Red Cross, roughly 62 percent of the US population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3 percent does. “That really motivated me,” he said. “We know there’s a great need. I said to myself that if I’m healthy, I ought to donate.” In fact, he added, consistently donating encouraged him to stay healthy. “If your blood pressure and hemoglobin levels aren’t where they’re supposed to be, they’ll decline you.” Burke was never turned away, but as he got older he started taking iron supplements before donation days, he said, just to be safe.