FRANKLIN COUNTY, N.C. — After serving his country for more than thirty years, Ed Kisslak never stopped serving his community of Waynesboro, and set a new milestone in blood donations.
“I was the leading blood donor in the air force,” said Kisslak.
Now 88 years old, Ed’s story unexpectedly began after enlisting in the United States Air Force more than 60 years ago.
“The first sergeant was looking at my military records, and I’ve always worked hard and have had very good performance reports, and I thought he was looking at my performance reports but no he was looking at my blood type,” said Kisslak.
Ed was born with type-o-negative blood, making him a universal blood donor.
“O-negative is the international blood type, and anyone can take it,” Ed explained to FOX43.
Due to being in the armed services, Ed would regularly give blood that was often used to treat other soldiers.
But, he also shared how one recipient made a profound impact on him.
“I [got] a call from a young lady who was crying, and thanked me for donating blood, it wasn’t for her, it was for her little girl, she said, ‘You helped save a little girl's life.’”
Ed retired from the air force after 33 years, though he has continued donating blood to the American Red Cross for more than three decades.
“I’ve been a blood donor recruiter now for a long time, and I can tell you it’s very hard, but one pint of blood can save three lives, and, in many cases, it has,” Kisslak said.
In total, Ed has donated 36 gallons, or 288 pints of blood, which is estimated to have helped more than eight-hundred patients in need.
Waynesboro has six blood drives a year, with its next drive scheduled for June 2023. Typically, each drive will earn 100 pints a day.
And while Ed will continue to participate at the drives, he said his doctors recommended he hold off on donating blood due to his age.
Download the Fox43 app here.