Helping strangers, one pint at a time

Minneota man donates 25th gallon of blood

Article originally appeared in the Minneota Mascot; reprinted with permission

By Scott Thoma

Rick Bot walked into the gymnasium at Lakeview High School in Cottonwood two days before Thanksgiving and sat in a metal folding chair waiting to be checked in for a Red Cross blood donation.

None of the nurses on hand or organizers of the event knew that this man was about to do something that few others have ever been able to accomplish. When one of the Red Cross nurses was informed that Bot was about to donate his 25th gallon (200 pints) of blood, she raised both arms in the air and let out a “whoop.”

Red Cross nurse Morgan Deslauriers prepares Rick Bot for his blood donation at Lakeview High School in Cottonwood. The donated pint of blood brought his total number of donations to 25 gallons.  Photo by Scott Thoma

Sadly, only three percent of age-eligible people donate blood in the United States. The percentage of those people donating 25 gallons of blood in their lifetime is a miniscule fraction of that three percent. Each donation can help save up to three lives, while every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood.

That means that Bot has helped save the life of up to 600 people.

When told he was a hero for donating so many gallons and saving so many lives, he simply shrugged his shoulders and uttered “the recipients are the real heroes.”

Bot, 71, who lives eight miles northeast of Minneota and 10 miles west of Cottonwood, gave his first pint of blood in June of 1972, his senior year at Minneota High School. His father, Richard, had been donating blood for several years, so Rick asked if he could go along to donate blood.

“I thought as long as he was going, I might as well go along and donate, too,” Rick said. “It was at the high school in Minneota and at first I was a little jittery because I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t hard and I’ve been giving ever since. Back then the Red Cross came to Lyon County about twice a year and I donated whenever they were in the area.”

Rick’s father gave a total of 28 gallons of blood over his lifetime, the last time when he was 95 years old and Rick went with him to Living Word Lutheran Church in Marshall. Richard Bot passed away just shy of turning 101 years old in 2023.

To put this accomplishment in perspective, consider that for someone to give blood six times a year, the maximum allowed yearly, it would take that person 33 1/3 years to reach 25 gallons. It’s taken Rick 53 years because when he first was donating blood, it was only available a couple of times a year. As time went on and HIV became a problem, the Red Cross starting holding more blood drives, allowing people like Bot to donate more often.

“I’m going to continue to give blood as long as I’m healthy enough,” Bot said. “It’s a good thing to do and it’s not hard. It just takes a little bit of time and travel.”

When Bot turned 50, he hit the 10-gallon mark and hasn’t let up since.

“If I stay in good shape, I can hit 30 gallons when I’m 78,” he said, noting that he would also top his father’s mark.

Over the years, several changes has been made to those donating blood.

“You used to have to go in and they would ask you all the questions and that did take a little time,” said Bot. “Now, you can just go online and answer everything and pre-register, which saves a lot of time. Also, now it takes just one (needle) poke. You used to have to be poked to check your hemoglobin count and now they can check it without a poke. They also don’t stick a thermometer in your mouth anymore; it’s just a forehead swipe now.”

Rick Bot checks in before donating his 25th (200 pints) gallon of blood on Nov. 25 at Lakeview High School in Cottonwood.  Photo by Scott Thoma

When Rick gave blood the first time, there was a lady that the Bot family knew who had nephews that were hemophiliacs.

“You could credit your pint to someone back then,” he told. “It didn’t even need to be the same blood type. So, I credited my pint to them.”

In all, Bot has donated blood in 21 different communities. Besides Minneota and Cottonwood, he has traveled and donated in Balaton, Belview, Canby, Currie, Dawson, Gary (SD), Granite Falls, Ivanhoe, Lake Wilson, Marshall, Maynard, Montevideo, Pipestone, Redwood Falls, Renville, Russell, Ruthton, Tracy, and Wood Lake.

Bot tries to encourage others to give. He has talked about donating blood as a member of the Minneota and Marshall Rotary Clubs.

“I hope by giving blood that I can convince others to do the same,” he said. “It’s just a good thing to do. The best part is that I don’t know who is receiving my blood. It is a true donation in the sense you don’t know who you are helping. I could be giving blood to the next Einstein.”

Or, he could be saving a baby’s life who grows up and donates 25 gallons of blood.