He’s New York City’s best blood banker.
Henry Bickoff, 68, of Huntington, LI, has donated 231 pints of blood — one donation shy of 29 gallons. He started in 1975, and gave 10 pints before they even started keeping computer records.
All told, the Long Islander’s blood has helped 693 people, according to the New York Blood Center.
He has donated the equivalent of 310 cans of Coke, 870 single-serve scoops of ice cream or nearly six, five-gallon office water cooler bottles.
Bickoff, who weighs 157 pounds, was surprised to learn he is the top donor in the tri-state area.
“I’ve been doing it for a while,” he said. “It’s something I’ve committed to, and it’s actually nice to get a little bit of recognition for it.”
The optometrist made his first donation while in college.
“Everybody was doing it,” Bickoff said. “It was a save-the-world kind of situation of do something good for everybody.”
That first experience was not a good one. He was not well hydrated, fed or rested, so he was “very dizzy” afterward, but it didn’t stop him from returning.
“This may sound silly but I consider it my main act of charity,” Bickoff said. “It’s something I can do and it doesn’t take a lot of time. I consider it multitasking — making blood cells while I’m doing everything else in my life. And it’s just that hour every two months to go down to the blood center and donate.”
Bickoff is in a class of his own.
“Less than 1/2 a percent of the donor base have donated 20 gallons or more,” said Andrea Cefarelli, senior vice president at NYBC. “The average person donates a couple of times in their lifetime.”
With a B-negative blood type, Bickoff’s blood is in high demand.
“It’s one of the blood types that is often in short supply because it’s only 2% of the population,” Cefarelli said. “A B neg can only receive B neg or O neg. O neg is the universal blood type — it can be safely transfused to anyone — but it’s only present in 6% of the population.”
Up until the last five to 10 years, Bickoff donated every 56 days like clockwork. With age, “I stretch it out a little bit,” he said. He prepares for game day with an iron supplement.
Bickoff’s wife donates blood, though not that frequently. His daughter cannot do so due to a rare blood disorder. And his son is not interested.
That doesn’t mean they’re not proud of him, though.
“It really is something that makes me so proud of him,” his daughter, Kimberly Mitchell, 36, said.
If he were to apply for it, Bickoff would hold the Guinness World Records title for the most whole-blood donations by a male. The title requires 231 units to qualify, a Guinness spokesperson said, exactly what Bickoff has donated.
“I think that’s pretty good,” Bickoff said modestly, noting he hit 231 units at his last donation May 16.
He said he will likely apply for the designation, but if not, his daughter would do it for him.
