Kansas resident Harold Facklam Jr. has been donating blood for decades, and now the 87-year-old has been recognized with a special service award for donating 32 gallons of blood over a 64-year period.
Facklam was recently given the Assisted Living Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living for donating 259 pints, or 32 gallons, of blood through the American Red Cross, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
Facklam told the newspaper his father encouraged him to begin donating in January 1951, and that his father, Harold Facklam Sr., also donated blood until he was no longer allowed to do so at age 60.
Facklam stopped giving blood in 2015 for health reasons, but family members including his son-in-law, daughter, and granddaughter have become regular donors, with his son-in-law John Jameson being the city's No. 2 blood donor of all time below Facklam, the CJ said.
Facklam told the Capital-Journal he saw the donations as a way to serve the community after he missed serving in World War II and was deferred from serving during the Korean War because he got married and had a child. Facklam has been married to his wife Venice for 66 years.
Whenever the Red Cross announced they were accepting donations in the area, Facklam donated a pint, about four times a year, the newspaper said.
Twitter recognized Facklam for his awesome contribution to saving lives.
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