Zejtun man marks 106th blood donation
'The 106 times I donated blood were the best 106 moments of my life.'
Father-of-four Joe Baldacchino of Zejtun can never forget the first day he donated blood.
It was a November day in 1975,when the promise of a day's special leave lured a group of dockyard workers to the Knights of Malta blood bank in Floriana.
Almost 34 years on, he still donates blood every three months. He has so far donated blood 106 times, giving more than 10 times a person's total volume of blood.
"The 106 times I donated blood were the best 106 moments of my life," Mr Baldacchino said as World Blood Donors Day was marked yesterday.
"After donating blood that first time, we went out for lunch and then to watch a movie," he said.
The group, 10 in all, agreed to go back after three months but eventually started dropping out one by one.
"But I said that I wanted to continue. I did not bother about my friends not joining me," he said.
He has chronologically listed all his donations, of which his most special is dated 01/01/2000, the first donation of the millennium.
Rather than partying all night and sleeping late, Mr Baldacchino woke up early and went to the National Blood Transfusion Services, next to St Luke's Hospital, arriving before the unit had opened. "I wanted to be the first," he admits.
"I am constantly looking through the booklets and thinking about the next donation," he said.
"It is easy and does not hurt. Some people think that they will die, but I have gone more than 100 times and am still alive," he laughed.
See video clip above.
Full story in The Times