Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas helped to save 4,600 lives with record-breaking blood donations.
The blood drive took place not long after Pastor Robert Morris’ near-death experience.
Doctors at the hospital that treated the pastor found that he had lost half his blood and that he had a hematoma the size of a cantaloupe.
Since Morris’ return to the pulpit on June 2, almost two months after he nearly died due to internal bleeding, he has been encouraging his megachurch to donate blood to help others, stressing, “Someone giving blood is what saved my life.”
More than 1,500 people responded at Gateway Church’s six campuses since then, with Carter BloodCare revealing that enough blood was collected to save at least 4,600 lives.
Linda Goelzer, director of public relations at Carter BloodCare told Fox 4 news – “This consistency and over six weeks’ time is remarkable,”
“We have been able to help some other community blood centers when we’re usually at the point of asking others.”
Goelzer told The Christian Post that of all church blood drives Carter BloodCare has been involved with, Gateway Church holds the record for the duration of the drive as well as the large response.
The megachurch had originally intended to hold a blood drive in April when Morris was first hospitalized with internal bleeding. But the event was held in June “because there is a greater need for blood in the summer.”