You would have to wind the clock back pretty far to find a time when Werribee resident Frank Hills wasn’t donating his plasma to those who needed it.
60 years in fact.
On 6 December, Mr Hills, now 78, will celebrate the anniversary of when he first rolled up his sleeves in 1965.
“Back in the early days when the Red Cross had a bus bringing people round to different industries and they came into the industry I was working in at the time,” Mr Hills said.
Perhaps the most striking difference between donating plasma between the two eras is the process itself.
“We just donated on the canteen table – there was no fancy set up,” Mr Hills said.
“When I first started I was living at home in Richmond and the next few years, I was in Deer Park and the last 40 years I have been living and donating in Werribee.”
On Tuesday 4 November, the stalwart donor clocked up another milestone with his 550th donation overall.
However, he said he is more proud about the length of time he has been doing it than the total number of donations.
“I think it is great, a lot of articles are written about the number of donations people have done, but I query them because you aren’t talking about the number of years people do it for.
When asked what has kept him doing it so long and what has sustained his passion, Mr Hills gave a modest answer.
“I think other people need it and haven’t–a lot of people have donated a lot more than I have.”
