Meet the man who has potentially saved thousands of people's lives

When Kevin Fanning first walked in to give blood at the age of 18 he had no idea just how many people's lives he was going to change.

The 67-year-old from Swinton has been donating for around 50 years, giving blood around every three months. In that time he's given some 200 pints of his blood for use in transfusions.

For some context, on average the human body contains around 10 and a half pints of blood. A quick bit of arithmetic reveals that means Kevin's given just over 19 people's worth of blood over his 50 years of donating.

READ MORE: Blood needed every eight minutes in Manchester amid NHS urgent call for lifesaving donors as stocks run low

But it's not just the quantity of blood that Kevin has donated over the years which is important. Kevin's blood lacks a particular antibody which is present in the majority of people, meaning that unlike most people his blood can be transfused into a new-born baby.

Just in case that wasn't enough, his blood type is also B-Negative. If you're not familiar with the different blood types, B-Negative is one of the rarest with only around two percent of people having it.

As for what had motivated Kevin to be so generous with his blood, he told the M.E.N.: "My mum had about 15 pints of blood, she kept losing blood, on the last occasion she had about 15 pints of blood to keep her alive. She used to say 'when you're able to, give blood.'"

In fact, Kevin's blood has previously been so in demand that there have been specific requests for it, and his blood taken all over the UK. He recalled on one occasion: "I was going to give plasma, and this woman ran in and said 'they need a pint of blood, can you give blood instead?'.

"As soon as he had finished he put it in a box and they