JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A local man reached a milestone with his arm today.
Kelly Williams donated his 100th gallon of blood. He rolls up his sleeves for the Blood Alliance every two weeks to donate specific blood components called apheresis. It's a procedure in which blood is drawn from a donor and separated into its components. Some are retained and the remainder is returned to the donor via transfusion.
He says it’s the easiest way to save a life, and it's a lesson that hit close to home when his own son needed blood.
"When he was 13, my oldest son had open heart surgery and he received blood from three people I have never met and probably never will," said Williams. "I have been donating aggressively every since."
Williams is one of only three people in Jacksonville to hit the 100-gallon mark.
The
Blood Alliance provides blood to more than 40 hospitals and medical facilities.
