For anyone to hit the 10 gallon mark as a blood donor is an accomplishment, but...

For anyone to hit the 10 gallon mark as a blood donor is an accomplishment, but for Don Puent of Hernando to reach that goal, it’s amazing.

Puent, 73, is a retired hospital administrator who moved to Florida 12 years ago from La Crosse, Wisc. He says he got a rather late start at donating. “I was scared stiff of needles, and there was no way I was going to do it.
It started out as a dare, and I took up the challenge,”
he says.

That dislike for needles dated back to some not-so-pleasant memories of shots when he was in the Navy. At Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, where he managed several different departments, many of his supervisors and people he supervised were already blood donors when he decided to give it a try. “They sort of shamed me into it,” he says. “I still don’t like needles, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought.” And the experience opened his eyes to what was going on around him.” You could see how it benefited others. I was blessed with good health. I just consider this a payback. I feel lucky to be healthy, and I feel an obligation to help others,” he says. He makes a visit every eight weeks to LifeSouth Community Blood Centers’ Inverness Center to donate. Every time he donates, before he leaves the chair he gets a sticker to put on his calendar at home to remind him of his next donation date.

 Laura Bailey, a team leader, trainer and apheresis tech at the center, says Puent never mentioned his fear. He’s always jovial and relaxed, and nearly always wears shorts and a T-shirt when he stops by. Other than his frequent visits, there’s something else that sets him apart from other donors. “He’s brought his camera in before,” she says.
“He likes taking pictures of his donations; he sends them off to family members.”

LifeSouth Community Blood Centers operate in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, collecting more than 700 units of blood daily to meet the needs of more than 120 medical centers.

Puent – it’s pronounced like Pent – and his wife Jean have four children and two grandchildren. He enjoys woodworking and reading, and nearly every day he and Jean hit the Withlacoochee Trail State Park near their home for a 12-mile bike ride together.
 “I think that’s one of the single healthiest things I do. It keeps my weight down, and I feel good afterwards,” he says. “It shows, he’s fit and trim,” notes Bailey. “When he squeezes that squeezy ball, oh my, the muscles in his arm.”

While his accent gives away a lifetime spent in Wisconsin, his move to Florida did prompt one major change. “I used to be a diehard Cheese Head, but then I became a Buccaneer fan,” he says with a laugh. And the guy who once feared the needle now looks forward to his donations.

 “I like that center, they’re very nice in Inverness, and it’s real convenient,” he says.
The Inverness Center is located at 301 W. Main. St., (352) 344-5332. There’s also a center at 1241 S. Lecanto Highway, Lecanto (352) 527-3061. Hitting that 10-gallon honor earned Puent a thank you plaque from LifeSouth. Bailey says the members of that select group share a lot in common. “It tells me they’re concerned about others,” she says. “Right away, I feel like I know them.”