TAMPA, Fla. — One pint of blood can help up to three people. Now imagine donating 160 pints — a total of 20 gallons. That much blood could potentially save the lives of 480 people.
Mario Nuñez recently reached his 20-gallon donation milestone. Since he was 18 years old, Nuñez has consistently donated his O-negative blood.
"You don't know how important it is until you need it yourself or a loved one might need this particular gift of life," Nuñez said.
Celebrating this milestone with him were his parents. Due to his universal blood type, Mario has been able to directly help family members in their time of need.
"I have donated to both my parents who have had surgery over the years," Nuñez said. "I don't want to cry, but it's an emotional thing."
Nuñez has become an advocate for donating blood, encouraging others to do their part in helping others.
"Roll up your sleeves and donate if you're well and healthy enough. There's a health benefit for you as well," he said.
According to OneBlood, less than 5% of the total blood donated comes from the Hispanic population, making it all the more difficult to find matches for those needing transfusions.
"We need the donor pool of people to reflect the community. Because we have to cross-match. We have to make sure that we match people with the right type of blood," OneBlood spokesperson Pat Michaels said.
Michaels said the vast majority of blood donated comes from Caucasian people.
"So what he is doing is a fine example of what each of us can do and not wait for a tragedy to happen," Michaels shared.
Nuñez says now his goal is to donate enough blood to hit the 25-gallon mark — an additional 40 pints.
Eligible donors can give blood every two months. For details on where to donate, click here.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.