Maurice Creswick (90) supported the blood run at Netcare Milpark Hospital on 15 June.
Creswick, a retired lawyer, is a Guinness World Record holder for the person who has donated the most blood and the Guinness World Record holder for the oldest blood donor. Creswick who resides in Elphin Lodge Retirement Village said that he has been donating blood for 72 years now and he started when he was 18 years old and has to date, donated 413 times.
The bubbly Creswick said, “This has been my way of giving back to society and that it is maximum return for minimum effort.” He said that it only takes 20 minutes, free biscuits and free coffee to have the opportunity to save someones live. “I used to donate every 56 days but as I got older I was only allowed to donate four times a year. Even though people over 65 years of age are not allowed to donate blood, the South African National Blood Service has made an exception for Creswick. When asked when he will stop donating blood, Creswick said that he will stop when his heart stops beating.
Creswick said that his family has been very supportive even though they do not donate. He now has seven grandchildren and two great-grand children and he hopes that one day one of them will ‘come to the party’.
His daughter, Ingrid Zahavi said that she is very proud and that what her father is doing is selfless and the work of a hero.
The Emergency Department unit manager for the Netcare Milpark Hospital, Mariesa Human, said that five Netcare hospitals are challenging each other to see who can donate the most blood. “The target is to get 1000 pints of blood as we are low on blood at the moment,” she said. Human said that this is the first of the blood drive they are planning to host annually.
Community members, Netcare Milpark Hospital employees and families of patients came out in numbers to donate. Antonio Carreira who has a wife at the hospital due for surgery was joined by his son and daughter to donate. “This can help other families as well,” said Carreira.
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