Houston man donates 100 gallons of blood: "Once you're poked, it's the easiest thing in the world."

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Each blood donation can save one to three lives, according to Gulf Coast Blood. For Garret Vandenbelt, his impact has reached thousands and thousands of people. In the fall of 2025, Vandenbelt reached a milestone - donating 100 gallons of blood.

"I'm proud of it, but I don't consider it a great accomplishment because it's easy to do. I was just hiking out in Big Bend - that's hard to do."

Vandenbelt, 69, started donating blood in the early 1980's with his wife for Rock N Roll shirts. Then the donation took on a greater significance.

"At first I was just doing regular blood, then someone alerted me that I'm A+ and that's universal for platelets," Vandenbelt remembers. "So, they said, we'd rather you do this, and I said, okay, takes a little longer, no problem."

Vandenbelt donates once a month and is encouraging others to give.



"Once you're poked, it's the easiest thing in the world, it's like watching TV at home," Vandenbelt said. "You should donate blood because people need it."

Eyewitness News is again partnering with Gulf Coast Blood for our annual blood drive in honor of the center's mission to meet local demand, which takes about 1,000 blood donations per day.





All successful donors will receive a Gulf Coast Blood power bank changer, a free A1C screening to help measure blood sugar levels, and one general admission ticket to Big Rivers Waterpark.