Anton Froneman (75) was awarded for donating 310 units of blood on March 1 at the Teksa branch of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) awards ceremony held at Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club in Secunda.

Fronenman began donating blood when he was 16 years old.

The other blood donors present at the event who received awards for donating the most blood are Barend Erasmus (275th medal), Detlev Hoffmann (250th medal), and George Curry and Jacobus Momberg (225th medal).

Donors also received medals for donating 200, 175, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50 and 25 units of blood. Dot Prinsloo, the donor relations practitioner of SANBS in Secunda, said she saw heroes at the event.

Ronald Marsh, the zone donor manager for Mpumalanga, said donors allow others to spend time with their loved ones.

“We like to have five days of stock, but have been battling to keep that up for the past few months.”

Sr Sanet Kalse, collection manager, said the SANBS purpose is to be trusted to save lives.

“Our vision is to be the cornerstone of healthcare in South Africa,” said Kalse.

“Our mission is to be reliable in providing safe and reliable blood products and services to patients at a world-class level.”

She shared that one in every four people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime.

“Only 1% of the population currently donates blood,” said Kalse.