EDITOR’S NOTE — Veteran Voices is an annual week-long series introducing WYDaily readers to some of our local veterans. Each story represents a different person in the Historic Triangle communities and shares their stories of service.
YORK COUNTY — Jim Bohlken served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1964 to 1970, and after leaving the Army, he began a career working at a local shipyard.
In the 1960s, upon switching from night shift to day shift, Bohlken found an opportunity to begin giving blood.
“When I got on day shift down at the shipyard, I went to the design and in the drawing room, I started donating. I’d worked night shift before that, and donating was hard to do, since most of the blood drives were always scheduled during the day shift hours,” Bohlken recalled.
Bohlken, who has O negative blood, recently completed a blood-donor milestone. At 82 years of age, he donated his 20th gallon of blood.
It took Bohlken 26 and a half years to reach that milestone.
“In order to give 160 gallons of blood, it’s taken a while,” Bohlken said. “I’m set up to give in May and November each year and I’d like to continue as long as I can.”
Along with his O negative blood type, Bohlken also donates power reds, which limits him to only donating every 112 days. His blood also has a negative Rh factor, which can be given to premature babies to help build their red blood cell count in the NICU.
Through the years, Bohlken has given blood at Riverside Hospital, at blood drives in Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Hampton, and now at his church in Poquoson.
Curtis Brooks, who organizes the blood drives at Bohlken’s church, praised him for his dedication.
“Jim is a dedicated giver and is always making sure prior to the blood drive that he eats right to ensure his iron level and other vitals are within the limits. Sometimes his iron level might be insufficient but it doesn’t discourage him to try again. He always tries to be the first Power Red donor and most of the time he is first and is able to give. Doing a power red credits him with a double donation and doing power reds means you can only donate every 112 days compared to 56 days for a normal donation. This means it takes about 26 years to accomplished a 20-gallon donation. WOW. Can one really imagine how many lives he has potentially affected? All donors are appreciated and affect so many lives,” Brooks said.
During his 20th gallon donation on Nov. 11, Bohlken’s family threw him a small party to thank him for his continuous donation efforts.
“This milestone is something I’ve been trying to get to because not a whole lot of people have got there. As long as I can keep continuing to give without a whole lot of hassle, I’ll keep going,” Bohlken said.
After watching her father give for so many years, Bohlken’s daughter Kammie has now started donating.
“I am so proud of my dad for his dedication over the years to saving lives. He is my hero and has inspired me to begin donating blood this year too,” expressed Kammie.
Blood drives are scheduled in various locations throughout the Hampton Roads area. To find a local blood drive, visit redcrossblood.org.
