50 gallons and counting - #lakewoodnews

It was just routine for the Woodson Family of Arvada.

Every couple of weeks on Saturday morning, Wilbur "Woody" Woodson Jr. would get up early and head over to Bonfils' community donor center in Golden to donate platelets.

But on June 10, the family was celebrating a milestone donation. Woodson made his 400th donation that day, equaling about 50 gallons. It is estimated that Woodson's donations have probably saved 1,200 lives through all his donations..

"I have lots of time to give blood," Woodson, 63, said. "It's the least I can do."

Woodson retired from Pipefitters as a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technician on April 1. He stays busy as an umpire for a lot of baseball games --; he recently was at 18 games in one week. He especially enjoys the games of young people entering high school.

Plus, Woodson is expecting his first grandchild --; a girl to be born to his son Toby. She was due on June 1, according to Toby, so the family is expecting her arrival any day.

But Woodson started donating blood long before his retirement.

He started off donating at mobile sites sometime in the mid-1980s. Then, on April 19, 1995, as a way to show support for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing --; a domestic terrorist attack --; he donated at Bonfils' community donor center in Golden.

"That's when I got rolling here," Woodson said.

And he learned something new that day --; platelet donations go to people undergoing chemotherapy.

At the age of 50, Woodson's mother died of colon cancer. So once he learned platelet donations help cancer patients, it became his preferred donation.

The constant need for platelet donors is especially crucial, Bonfils' communications specialist Liz Lambert said, because platelets have a shelf life of only five days. Whole blood donations can be transfused for up to 42 days, she said.

Although it varies between donors, it takes about an hour-and-a-half to two hours to do a platelet donation, compared to the approximate 10 minutes for whole blood. Platelet donors are able to donate up to 24 times per year, and whole blood donors can donate up to six times per year.

Platelet and plasma donations are only able to be done at Bonfils' fixed donor centers because of the machinery required.

Most people donate whole blood, Lambert said. Woodson is one of the five percent of Bonfils donors who does platelets, she said.

"It takes a special type of person to come back regularly," said Mark Thompson, Bonfils' vice president of performance improvements. "It's a big commitment."

Thompson noted that Woodson's dedication proves he realizes the value of his donations.

"The biggest thing is making a difference in peoples' lives," Woodson said. "It's pretty fulfilling."

Out of nearly 70,000 Bonfils donors, Woodson became the 22nd person to top the 50-gallon milestone during his June 10 donation. He saw some of the other award ceremonies, and at the time, thought, "I'll never make that," Woodson said. But now that he has, he added he has no plans to stop donating.

His family is "really proud of him," said Phyllis, Woodson's wife of 37 years. "What an accomplishment," she said.

It's great that he's been donating for so many years, Woodson's daughter Shelley Woodson Banker said.

"Hopefully his story will inspire others to give," Banker said.

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