A man from Port St. Lucie has saved the lives of 864 people.

Since 1976, 73-year-old James Michelini has donated blood and platelets every second Wednesday. After 43 years, he has made his initial target of 10 gallons ten times.

He lived in Connecticut when he began donating and had already made 35 gallons by the time he moved to Port St. Lucie. Since moving he just kept going nearby Stuart, to a OneBlood donation centre faithfully every fortnight.

According to TCPalm, he just went to donate blood on a whim for the first time, and never stopped; it became his job.

Every pint of donated platelets can save the life of one person, while every pint of blood has the possibility of saving up to three people. This amounts to more than 800 people’s lives saved with the 100 gallons Michelini has donated.

Michelini said it felt really good to know that he could be a “little bit of a life saver” and that he would continue donating for as long as he remained healthy.

For subscribers: Port St. Lucie blood donor has gifted 100 gallons to OneBlood over 43 years; saved 864 lives https://t.co/HToCZo58Hq — TCPalm (@TCPalm) November 27, 2019