Bowling Green man donates 10th gallon of blood to American Red Cross

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - It all started as a way to earn a little bit of money in college but has transformed into a lifelong duty.

Eric Burnett has been donating blood for over 30 years.

He started donating plasma when he was in college to help pay for things. Burnett saw in the news that a man had donated up to 11 gallons of blood in his lifetime. This inspired Burnett to do the exact same thing.

“I retired from Logan Aluminum. Every year, they would hold a blood drive trying to get as many donations as possible, so I did that every year. I started donating as many times as I could throughout the year,” said Burnett.

After all of those years of donating blood, Burnett donated his 10th gallon of blood today in Bowling Green.

“It is great to be able to help out everyone, be able to donate, and be healthy. Lord-willing, I will be able to continue that and maybe I can reach that goal of 11 gallons someday,” said Burnett.

Burnett even had some advice for those hesitant on donating blood.

“Just keep on, keeping on,” said Burnett. “Do what you can to stay healthy, and lord-willing, you too will meet those goals.”

One blood donation is said to save up to three lives per donation. After 80 donations, Burnett has saved a near-estimated 250 lives.

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