A northern Vancouver Island man travelled more than six hours to the Lower Mainland Thursday to make his 450th blood donation to the only platelet clinic in B.C.
Brent Adamoski from Coal Harbour has the longest commute of any donor at the clinic, located near BC Children's Hospital.
According to Angela Poon, B.C./ Yukon Canadian Blood Services spokeswoman, Adamoski's contribution of platelets -- the clotting component of blood -- is essential for low immunity pediatric or cancer patients.
Adamoski had to donate up to eight times before he was allowed to join the select group of donors who are chosen based on the size of blood veins, blood type, platelet count and body weight.
"We are just incredibly inspired and amazed by Brent being one of the top five donors in B.C. and the fact that he comes from Vancouver Island to donate at our only platelet clinic in the province is just incredible," said Poon.
Adamoski has been donating blood since 1985, just after his daughter was born in nearby Grace Hospital.
He said his inspiration came from a couple he met who were taking their two-month baby into her third surgery. They were expecting to go through three more before she turned one.
"Just to see these parents and see what they were going through with their young child, I just felt it was something I could do," he said.
Once needle-phobic, Adamoski said his friends are still shocked he donates at all.
"But I saw this young family and baby," he explained. "The amount of discomfort I go through for that initial jab pales in comparison to what they go through."
The average person donates once a year and most patients donate fewer than 50 times, making Adamoski's record a huge achievement.
"It's nice to know how many people I've been able to help over the years," he said.
Poon said she hopes Adamoski's story will inspire others to donate blood.
While the clinics were up in blood stocks this holiday season, she said donations need to continue over the winter months.
"We need about 10,000 donations a month for both whole blood and platelets," said Poon.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St John Alexander.
