NEW YORK, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- You may guess by reading his vanity license plate, "O BLOOD," Albert Fischer of Massapequa, NY is a rare breed. He's also a rare blood type: O-positive, "Code 96" found in one out of 200, and a dedicated blood donor.
Make that a VERY dedicated blood donor: September 8, 2009 will be Albert Fischer's 320th volunteer whole blood donation, the most on record for New York Blood Center (NYBC) and its regional operations in New York City, Brooklyn/Staten Island, Long Island, Hudson Valley, and New Jersey. Fischer himself has donated whole blood regularly since 1951, and has kept blood donation records that precede the establishment of NYBC in 1964. He has donated whole blood virtually every 56 days since that time, for nearly 60 years.
Albert Fischer remembers his first volunteer blood donation while visiting relatives in Union, South Carolina.
"The First Baptist Church held a blood drive, so I went," he said. "I ended up staying a while, and when the church held another drive, I gave again, and just kept on giving."
"He lives to donate blood," said Harvey Schaffler, Vice President of Long Island Blood Services. Albert Fischer's September 8 whole blood donation will total 40 gallons collected by New York Blood Center.
Fischer has been recognized as one of the Bush Administration's "Thousand Points of Light," and even applied for the Guinness Book of World Records several years ago.
"Of course I'd like to be in there," Fischer said. The top two record holders for donating the most blood are from South Africa. Albert Fischer believes he may be in 4th place, and has reached out to other top donors. "There's one record holder from St. Louis who is about six pints ahead of me," he said.
Albert Fischer's O-positive blood can be given to 85 percent of the p
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| SOURCE New York Blood Center Copyright©2009 PR Newswire. All rights reserved |