Maurice is the oldest regular blood donor
Maurice Creswick can do so much for so many people with such little effort.
WHEN you make the decision to donate blood, you make the decision to save lives.The RECORD did an article on June, 14 about World Blood Donor Day and received the following from Netcare 911 about a special donor who is one man that many should know of.
Ninety-year-old Maurice Creswick, has donated 413 pints, or 195.4 litres, of blood since he first began this lifesaving habit in 1944 at the age of 18.
He has been recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest regular blood donor and to mark World Blood Donor Day, 14 June, Maurice threw down the gauntlet to other South Africans.
Asked what motivates him to keep donating blood, the sprightly donor says: “It is because I can do so much for so many people with such little effort.”
On Wednesday, Maurice visited Netcare Milpark Hospital as part of his campaign to encourage South Africans to donate blood. “Maurice is an inspiration to us all, showing how a single person can potentially touch the lives of so many others simply through regular blood donation,” says Netcare Milpark Hospital’s trauma programme manager, Rene Grobler.
Netcare Milpark Hospital, which has an accredited level 1 trauma unit, has extended a blood donation challenge of its own to Netcare Union, Netcare Garden City, Netcare Sunninghill, Netcare Unitas and Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial hospitals.
“The idea is to encourage as many staff, patients, visitors and other members of the public as possible to do their bit for our country through donating blood. At Netcare Milpark Hospital, we are lucky enough to have Maurice, a world champion and true blood donation veteran, who will be cheering on our efforts,” Grobler explains.
General manager of Netcare Milpark Hospital, Anton Gillis, applauded Mr Creswick on his achievement of having donated 413 pints of blood. “His selfless regular blood donation is an inspiration to us all. If each of us followed his example, South Africa would never be faced with a shortage of blood reserves. We urge everyone to get involved in this simple act of generosity, least of all because you never know when you might be the patient who needs a blood transfusion,” Gillis concluded.
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