Record blood donor Werner Graf: lives saved 150 times!

Record blood donor Werner Graf: lives saved 150 times!

In Lauterecken, a man is truly a hero of good deeds. Werner Graf, 66 years old, has donated his blood for the good cause for 45 years. During that time, he estimated he donated 75 liters of blood, which equates to about half a liter per appointment. This impressive contribution to our healthcare system was recently recognized by the DRK Lauterecken local association after reaching the remarkable mark of 150 blood donations. He owes his personal motivation not least to his family, who encouraged him to donate blood right from the start - numerous relatives are also active donors.

But what drives a person to donate blood regularly for so many years? In Werner Graf’s case, it was a small but important accessory – a pocket calendar that he received after his first donation. This calendar helped him keep track of his appointments meticulously and was a constant source of motivation. The person celebrating his birthday even kept a small book in which he meticulously documented every donation. His blood group AB is particularly valuable: it only covers 5% of the population in Germany, but universal plasma can be obtained from this blood. Universal plasma is of immense importance for the initial care of accident victims and patients with autoimmune diseases.

Important blood donation dates in Lauterecken

Werner Graf plans to continue to help his fellow human beings. The next appointment for his blood donation will be his 161st and will take place on Tuesday, August 26th from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Janusz Korczak School. But it's not just Werner who can make a contribution: Anyone who would also like to help has the opportunity to find out about other donation dates and opportunities on the DRK website.

What many people don't know: In Germany, around 15,000 blood donations are necessary every day in order to adequately care for patients in hospitals. The DRK blood donation service Baden-Württemberg Hesse in Frankfurt carries out around 5,000 blood samples a week - a remarkable achievement that is supported daily by mobile teams that are active in community centers, schools and other institutions. A total of 340 employees are employed at a single location in Frankfurt, Sandhofstrasse 1 in Niederrad, who not only take blood but are also involved in research projects such as the development of new tumor therapies. This research is essential to further increase the safety of blood products.

The importance of blood groups

Another fascinating aspect of blood donation is blood group compatibility. In the case of blood transfusions, a lack of compatibility between donor and recipient can be life-threatening as the erythrocytes can clump together. People with blood group 0 are particularly in demand because they do not contain any antigens and are therefore suitable for almost all recipients. However, people with AB blood can only donate to recipients of their own blood type, but have the widest choice of potential donations in an emergency.

The willingness to donate blood is invaluable to our society. Everyone can help, and even if it's sometimes just small contributions, they can make a big difference. Werner Graf shows us all that every drop counts.