JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Here’s a story that really helps add to the meaning of Giving Tuesday.
A Mayo Clinic volunteer who has been donating blood for decades to help others in need reached a special milestone: donating 150 gallons of blood in his lifetime.
Carroll Sharp says while he didn’t necessarily set out to accomplish this goal, he’s glad he could do it.
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”It’s amazing,” he remarked. “It’s not something that I thought that I would do.”
Sharp’s journey started almost 60 years ago.
”I donated blood first in Louisville, Kentucky in 1963,” he recalled.
Ever since then, Sharp goes through the three-hour process, twice a week.
”My motto I guess is find something that you can do and do it the best you can,” he emphasized.
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”This guy has impacted thousands of people in his lifetime, possibly saving hundreds of lives by giving blood,” said OneBlood spokesperson Pat Michaels “Because every donation that he gives lands in the arm of a patient within five days.”
In the past 10 years he’s volunteered at Mayo Clinic, he’s impacted even more lives. His pins tell the story.
”I donated a kidney in 2017,” Sharp explained, pointing to one pin.
“These represent the number of hours and number of years that I’ve volunteered here at Mayo,” he added, pointing to two different pins: one with the number 7000 and one with the number 10 on it.
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”He is a remarkable person,” Joyce White said with a smile. She’s the Director of Volunteer Services at Mayo Clinic, and has witnessed the care Sharp puts into the hours he spends at the hospital.
”Somebody that goes to these lengths, to donate his time, donate his blood, his kidney, that’s a little unheard of,” she expressed.
On Tuesday, OneBlood and Mayo Clinic teamed up to add some more awards to the list, including the Fritsch Coin award.
Sharp is the fifth person in the state of Florida to receive it, and Mayo says it only bestows it upon individuals for embodying the highest outstanding character and good will.
”I don’t do things for the awards that I get but to be an example for somebody,” Sharp pointed out.
Sharp says even if it’s not donating blood, any small act of kindness can reach someone when they need it most.”You can make a difference in somebody’s life,” Sharp said. “Every little bit helps.”
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