Steve Medina has donated 400 pints of whole blood, but the volume of his giving cannot solely be measured by the number of 1 pint bags he fills every 56 days.
This morning, Medina, 85, became the first person to reach the 50-gallon donation mark for whole blood at Bonfils Blood Center. Since each pint can be used for as many as three people, that’s a total of 1,200 people helped or saved by Medina over his life.
He started donating blood at an Army camp in Leadville during World War II when he was 17 and needed his mother’s permission. He doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“I’ll donate as long as I can,” Medina said. “It makes me feel good.”
In his 400 donations, he has only been hurt four times, which he considers to be a pretty great track record. The Denver West Community Donor Center is his regular stop and nurses made him a cake in the shape of a blood bag to celebrate his accomplishment this morning.
He doesn’t wince and often watches as the nurses draw blood from his right arm. The amount of blood he has donated is enough to replace the whole blood supply in five adults.
Medina doesn’t donate for the bragging rights. When he is not working installing sprinklers for his company SM Sprinklers, he volunteers with Hospice of Saint John.
He lost his wife to cancer in 1994 and has volunteered with the organization who took care of her since.
He helps “elderly people like me,” get to their appointments and run errands.
His daughter Candice Rizzuto said her father is always giving to others.
“He would give someone the shirt off his back or his last dime if they needed it,” she said.
She sat reclined in the chair next to him this morning also donating blood to mark Medina’s “lifetime achievement.”
“He was my inspiration to donate. It only takes a few minutes and it’s so selfless,” she said.
Caitlin Gibbons:303-954-1638 or cgibbons@denverpost.com
