Generous Blood Donor

[Anchor Lead]

With a plunge in the number of donors, blood is in alarming short supply. Despite this trend, one citizen has donated blood more than 700 times over the last 41 years. Let's take a look.

[Pkg]

63 year-old Hwang Eui-sun visits a blood donation center. Hwang first donated blood at a donation bus he came across in 1975 when he was serving as an Army staff sergeant.

[Soundbite] Hwang Eui-sun (63) (701-time Blood Donor) : "The sign read 'Type O urgently needed.' I thought I could save someone if I donated my blood."

Since then, he has regularly donated blood once or twice a month. He has made 701 donations over the course of 41 years, sharing an amount equivalent to the combined blood of 63 adult men. Hwang says that he has become healthier by donating blood. It's because he not only avoids smoking and alcohol but also maintains a healthy diet for blood donation. He shares even further by conceding his blood donation certificates to organizations such as the Korea Association of Children with Leukemia and Cancer.

[Soundbite] Hwang Eui-sun (63) (701-time Blood Donor) : "Donating blood is an act of patriotism, as foreign currency can be saved by doing so. I want to continue to donate blood as long as I am healthy."

Hwang says that for him, blood donation is a way to express his patriotism. He added that he hopes to continue to donate until he turns 70, the maximum age for blood donation.