A dad who made a life changing decision following the death of his daughter's best friend has been handed a world record.
Patrick Earley, 97, originally from Seaforth, has donated blood hundreds of times following an accident which left his daughter's best friend in need of a transfusion. The accident would eventually prove fatal, but it was then, according to daughter Cathy, 60, he decided to act.
Patrick "has always donated blood" but posters on the wall of the Red Cross donation centre inspired him to start donating asphersis platelets, a component of blood, which are less commonly donated and yet considered more valuable due to their use in many life-saving treatments.
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Cathy, who now lives in Orange County, California, told the ECHO: "About 30 years ago one of my girl friends was in a car accident. That's around the time he started donating the platelets.
"Dad has always donated blood. But he was in the Red Cross donation centre and he happened to look up on the wall and the staff told him they were platelet donors. He said 'well I want to be on that wall.' That was in the mid 1990's.
"He stopped in January 2020, when he was 93. He'd donated one more time and his veins were starting to give out and he said he'll call it a day then.
In the end he had donated 1034 units.
"It had got to a point where I was thinking there's got to be a world record for this. So I got in touch with the Guinness World Records and they said it was doable, but there was a list of like 20 different things you've got to send them to qualify.
"I told him to sign a letter for it and covered most of it with my hand. He asked why and I said one day you'll understand. My best friend's parents, who we all grew up together with, are totally proud of him
"It's something that people don't think about doing, and don't realise how easy it is. Dad grew up in Seaforth - his whole family lived there.
"He was in the service, going all around the place, but eventually he settled in Montreal. But the weather got to him there and when he went to California to visit my uncle he just decided that's the place for him.
"I was back in Liverpool last summer. I went to his house and his church.
"It was very quiet, and it seemed like it was all closing as I was walking around. But the people were so nice."
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