A southern Colorado man donates 90 gallons of blood, saving thousands

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - A southern Colorado man has donated 90 gallons of blood- that is 720 donations.

Dave Mihalick has been a blood donor since 1985, and nothing is stopping him now.

Dave is the first southern Colorado donor to reach this milestone.

Dave told 11 News he first started donating blood when an employee’s mother needed a lifesaving transfusion. Nurses then asked him if he’d be coming back.

“And they didn’t realize I was gonna be coming back for 40 years,” blood donor Dave Mihalick said.

Forty years of giving blood and driving from Pueblo to the Colorado Springs Vitalant site, Dave said his blood -- Type B positive -- could help cancer, trauma, and transplant patients.

“He says my brother is a leukemia victim, and I can’t give blood or platelets,” Mihalick said. “He says if it wasn’t for guys like you, he needs platelets two or three times a month, so if it weren’t for guys like you, he’d be dead. And it finally made a personal contribution that you were doing something to somebody.”

Vitalant spokesperson Brooke Way added that taking 45 minutes out of your day can save lives.

“That one short moment of your volunteer time saves three lives,” said Brooke Way, Vitalant Communications Manager.

Ninety gallons of blood later, Dave is estimated to have saved 2,160 lives, and now he is encouraging others to do the same.

“It’s something you can do for your community, and it doesn’t cost you any money to do that, and you’re doing a benefit for your community members who need that blood,” Mihalick said.

“Some people take an hour to go work out,” Way said. “Take an hour sometime, you know, once every eight weeks to come and give blood with us. It’s such an easy process.”

Vitalant told 11 News that the need for blood, especially Type O, is critical - with blood transfers happening every two seconds. O-negative blood can help patients regardless of blood type.

Dave said he will continue giving while he can.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mihalick said.

Vitalant also held a 90th-gallon party in honor of Dave and his time.

You can click here to find a donation center near you if you want to give.

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