Everyone has a personal reason for donating blood, whether it is a civic duty, or the just right thing to do. I don't know what his reason was on that day in 1973, but everyone's reason is unique.
Here's a link to an 86 year old that reached the 40 gallon mark. That's pretty impressive. You can go to redcrossblood.org for more information on donating blood.
Today, I passed the one gallon mark by providing a double red cell donation. That's 2 units of only the red blood cells. It takes a little longer each time, but you only need to donate half as often since it is 112 days between donations. At my age, 1 gallon is not very impressive, but I took quite a long break.
