CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – It’s been 65 years since the first time Raymond Swadley donated blood, and he is now preparing to donate his 44th gallon.
Swadley, 85, a retired postal worker, has been donating unit after unit of whole blood since he was 21, and he’s now up to 346 pints.
“I have a friend in Connecticut, he’s an attorney from Australia,” Swadley said. “He gave his 300th pint last fall, and he got curious to know how many people have given 300 pints of whole blood.”
That friend, Robert Scott, did some research and found there’s only a handful of people across world who had donated 300 or more whole blood pints. He sent his findings to Swadley, and the research yielded the four living record donors: Scott, Swadley, Phil Baird and John Sheppard. While it’s a moving target as the four donors keep giving, Swadley appears to be in the lead.
Getting started
It all started in 1958 when Swadley worked at a bank in Cumberland, Maryland. One of the banking officers asked if Swadley would come and donate blood with him. Swadley had nothing else to do, so he agreed. Plus, his parents were lifelong donors.
Swadley moved to the Clarksville area when he was in the Army. He served from 1961 to 1964 and spent time at Fort Campbell as a personnel clerk for an engineering battalion. Even in the Army, he said, he kept up with his donations.
Along the way, he knew he was helping people, but he never knew much about them.
“Until the internet you didn’t really know,” Swadley said. “I donated this month. A couple weeks after you donate, you’ll get an email from Red Cross saying, ‘Your blood is being shipped to Mississippi, Rhode Island, Connecticut, somewhere, to help somebody. That’s a good feeling.”
Giving someone a second chance
When donating, each pint of blood can be used for up to three people. Since Swadley has donated 346 pints thus far, it is calculated that his blood has helped 1,038 people.
“When you first start out, there’s really not a motivating force behind it,” Swadley said. “But as you get older and you get your 1-gallon pin, then your 2-gallon pin, it becomes sort of a collectors thing.”
Swadley reached over to his coffee table and presented a shadow box full of pins, pictures and memorabilia he had collected over the years from donating. At the center of this shadow box was Hebrew text.
It was from the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law. The text translates to: “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.”
“It’s giving someone another Christmas, another birthday. It’s giving them a second chance,” Swadley said, tears welling in his eyes. “The candle of your life is getting shorter and shorter. The 28th of June is my next time to give. And I thought, ‘Gee, I hope I live to give that one more pint for somebody.'”
Swadley said he plans to keep donating blood as long as his health permits. There are no upper age limits for donors.
“It’s hard to talk about it,” Swadley told Clarksville Now. “I don’t want people to think, ‘He’s doing this for recognition.’ I acquiesce to this interview not for recognition, but maybe it will inspire someone to give a pint of blood.”
LoriAnn Tinajero, executive director of the American Red Cross Tennessee River Chapter, told Clarksville Now they are so grateful for Swadley and his devotion to saving lives.
“Ray is faithful in coming to our American Red Cross Clarksville Chapter to share his life saving blood every 56 days,” Tinajero said. “Together as a community in volunteering and donating our blood – we all make a difference. Volunteers and blood donors are needed.”
The American Red Cross invites everyone to 1760 Madison St. to volunteer and to donate blood. For more information, go to the American Red Cross Tennessee River Chapter website, or call 931-645-6401.
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