Craig Carter is afraid of needles.
The Gainesville commissioner has only donated blood twice in his life, but starting Monday, he will begin to donate every two months until he reaches 67 gallons — about 536 times — in honor of his friend of 10 years, former Gainesville Mayor Perry McGriff. That means Carter would have to donate one pint per sitting, for the next 89 years. He is 57 years old.
“The thought of someone put- ting a needle in my arm scares me,” Carter said. “I’ll get over it. I’ll just think of Perry when they pull that needle out, and I’ll be fine.”
McGriff died Feb. 2 from complications with a heart surgery, according to Alligator archives. He was 79.
He served on the City Commission in the 1960s and 1970s.
Carter’s donations will be part of Pints for Perry, a program organized by the Rotary Club of Gainesville and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers to collect blood in honor of McGriff, who was a frequent donor. McGriff donated more than 67 gallons of blood, Carter said.
“He donated to people he would never see or never know, and he didn’t care because he just wanted to help,” Carter said.
A blood-mobile will visit the Gainesville City Hall at 9 a.m. Monday until
March 7, said Laura Bialeck, LifeSouth community development coordinator. The bus will also go to the Gainesville Regional Utilities building downtown on Wednesday and Gainesville Public Works on Thursday. Donors can also go to any LifeSouth location and register their donation with Pints for Perry.
Bialeck said about 50 people have already registered to participate in the program. She hopes 536 people donate blood, which will meet the program’s goal.
“That will be quite a testimony to Perry McGriff’s life and what he did for the Gainesville community,” she said.
Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @MerylKornfield
Craig Carter
