By Bonita Wilborn
A vampire is a fictional character portrayed in theaters that must have blood to maintain life. Without a steady of blood, the vampire would not continue to live. In reality, blood is essential to life in human beings as well, however, our bodies were designed to produce the blood we need to maintain life.
Unfortunately, there are situations that arise which cause our bodies, to have a need for additional blood; accidents, injuries, health conditions, and etc. In those instances, it is a marvelous thing that we don’t have to search out an unsuspecting donor, bite them on the neck, and literally suck the life sustaining substance from their body.
We have among us, donor’s who are willing to share that life sustaining substance with those around them who are in need. Some are more willing that others. Those are called heroes. One of those heroes is James Burkhart of Fort Payne.
If you attended Fort Payne High School between the years of 1967 and 1993 you probably know James Burkhart as “Mr. B”, but at the Red Cross James Burkhart is known as “Old Faithful.”
The age-old adage “blood is thicker than water” is used to refer to the fact that family should be more important to us than friends or acquaintances, but the truth of the matter is that blood really is thicker than water. The weight of a gallon of water is 8.329 pounds while the weight of a gallon of blood is approximately 8.85 pounds. Therefore, since 1966, James Burkhart (Mr. B) has donated slightly more than 265 pounds (240 pints). That number far exceeds his body weight. The average adult human body contains 10 – 12 pints (1 ¼ – 1 ½ gallons) of blood.
Burkhart first began donating blood back in 1966 when he was a civilian working for the United States Army in Huntsville. “It started on a whim,” he admitted. “I’d heard that you could get 4 ½ hours sick leave if you donated blood, so being 22 I thought, ‘I’ll go donate some blood and get 4 hours sick leave.’ Then is started hearing that there were people in the county that had given 5 and 10 gallons and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ Then I also heard that if you give as much as 3 gallons you’re good for a lifetime card. So I made my goal to give 3 gallons. From then it’s just gone on to see how much I can give.”
According to the American Red Cross, the human body is capable of replacing the plasma from one pint of blood within 24 hours, but it takes four to six weeks for the body to completely replace the red blood cells from one pint of blood. For this reason, eight weeks is required between donations of blood to ensure the health and safety of the donor. “I donate for two reasons. Number one, because it helps others and number two, it’s like getting a free mini physical every 56 days because they take about 5 extra vials and run test on them. If they find anything you should know about they’ll call you from the lab,” Burkhart explained.
Only about 15% of the population currently donates blood. The reason most people don’t donate blood due to their fear of needles and the inconvenience of having to take time off work, but the nation wide need for blood is extreme.
In addition to donating lots of blood, Burkhart and his wife Teresa have also been Disaster Volunteers for the Red Cross.