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San Antonio man known as the 'Babe Ruth of blood and platelet donors' reaches 1,000 donations

It took the 61-year-old 38 years donating regularly, amounting to 125 gallons of platelets.

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio native who has been called the Babe Ruth of blood and platelet donations has just reached a major milestone: 1,000 donations.

Marcos Perez is a familiar face at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.

"Mr. Perez is a very special person who's devoted so much of his time and platelets to local patients," said BioBridge Global Associate Medical Director Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul.

You could call him the MVP-D: Most Valuable Platelet-Donor.

Thursday, the South Texas Blood and Tissue center presented him a plaque on his 1,000th donation. 

It took the 61-year-old 38 years donating regularly, amounting to 125 gallons of platelets. With his donation Thursday, his grand total is 1,000 units.

"So, for 1000 donations, I think this is the first time since I've been here,” Gomez Ngamsuntikul said. “So, it's an incredibly rare occasion."

She said Perez's donation comes at a time when the need for blood and tissue is critical. "We've seen a dramatic impact to the blood supply, and I think if it continues, people will have to have surgeries cancelled if we don't turn around this blood supply."

For Perez, donating tissue has been important from the very beginning.

"It goes back to when I was born. I needed a blood transfusion in 1960,” he said. “A friend of my dad’s, his name was Tony Aguilar, donated blood for me. So, he saved my life."

As big of a milestone this is, Perez says it's vital that everyone who can donate alongside him.

"It's important because if there's no blood on the shelves, hospitals and doctors can't save lives."

Anyone interested in joining Perez in giving blood or platelets can find more information here.

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