Kyobo Life Insurance Branch Manager Kim Kyung-rak... Over 20 Years in Insurance with 362 Blood Donations
"Saving Lives Through Small Acts"... Practicing Neighborly Love Through Blood Donation
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] “Blood donation and life insurance share the same spirit of mutual aid and practicing love for neighbors. That’s why I was drawn to blood donation while working as a branch manager at a life insurance company.”
Due to concerns about COVID-19 infections, blood donations have sharply declined, causing a critical shortage in blood supply. Amid this situation, there is someone who has been steadily donating blood for 21 years, spreading warm love to neighbors and serving as a role model. The protagonist is Kim Kyung-rak (age 51), a financial planner (FP) branch manager at Kyobo Life Insurance in Gwangmyeong.
Kim began donating blood in earnest in 2000 when he was working as a branch manager at Kyobo Life Insurance. Having participated in various volunteer activities, he was attracted to blood donation because it could save lives through a small act.
“At that time, I read a newspaper article saying that blood was being imported from abroad. I thought, this is the volunteer work I was looking for. Blood donation is a noble act that can be easily and consistently done alone while saving lives. It’s been over 20 years since I started.”
Just as he has worked as an insurance branch manager for over 20 years to firmly protect his clients’ futures, he has conveyed the precious values of life insurance?respect for life and love?to his neighbors through blood donation.
Having consistently donated blood for over 20 years, his total number of donations has reached 362 times. Since one blood donation can save three lives, he has roughly saved about 1,000 precious lives.
The total volume of blood donated is 145 liters, equivalent to the total blood volume of 29 adult men. There are only about 200 people nationwide who, like Kim, have donated blood over 300 times and received the highest honor, the Blood Donation Merit Medal, from the Korean Red Cross.
Continuously participating in blood donation has also sparked his interest in practicing life sharing, leading him to sign consent forms for hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) donation and organ donation.
These days, Kim regularly visits the nearby “House of Blood Donation” on weekends. Unless something special comes up, he donates blood twice a month.
“Investing about an hour (for platelet donation) can save precious lives. To donate blood consistently, you have to manage your health through diet control and exercise, so I naturally became healthier.”
He has felt many rewarding moments through his long-term blood donation practice. “In the early 2000s, two FP colleagues I worked with needed urgent blood transfusions due to surgeries for themselves and their mothers-in-law. I sent them 30 blood donation certificates each from those I had collected, and they were able to complete their surgeries successfully. I still can’t forget the grateful look on my colleague’s face.”
Since then, he has donated most of his blood donation certificates to neighbors in need, such as firefighters and colleagues with leukemia. Whenever he sees difficult stories on TV or encounters places needing help like Salvation Army charity kettles or highway rest area donation boxes, he generously donates his collected blood donation certificates. Recently, he even sent blood donation certificates by mail after seeing an urgent blood request message on the company intranet.
He was recognized for his contributions, receiving the “President of the Korean Red Cross Award” in 2017 and the “Minister of Health and Welfare Award” in 2019. The Minister of Health and Welfare Award is the highest honor given to blood donors, selected annually by recommending one person from each of the 15 blood centers nationwide who have donated whole blood 50 times and platelet donations 100 times or more.
Last year, he also became the first to receive the company’s “Proud Kyobo Employee Award” in the social service category.
Kim expressed regret about the recent decline in blood donations. “I am worried because the domestic blood supply is steadily decreasing. We take thorough infection prevention measures such as temperature checks, mask-wearing, and hand sanitizer availability during blood donation, so I hope many people actively participate in blood donation.”
In fact, Kim has recently been a blood donation advocate, donating blood with his family and encouraging other employees and FPs at his company to donate.
“Blood donation is not about losing blood but about creating new blood. I want to continue participating steadily for the next 6 to 7 years to reach 500 donations and help even more neighbors.”
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