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LAPLACE — An average-sized man has about 12 pints of blood in his body. There are eight pints in a gallon, and Mike Brady of LaPlace has donated close to 22 gallons since getting involved with blood drives decades ago as a Shell Norco employee.

His older brother, Donald “Donoo” Brady, 83, has donated more than 30 gallons since age 18, when he first gave blood to support a classmate with leukemia.

At one point in time, all nine Brady brothers donated blood. The second oldest, Milton, has since passed away, and only a few are able to continue to selfless tradition in 2020.

In addition to donating blood, the brothers have donated countless hours cooking for various events, including blood drives, monthly VFW and AARP meetings, and Harold Keller’s annual Memorial Day breakfast.

Mike’s first experience with blood donation was when he was 17 years old. He felt a little queasy the first time around, and he didn’t become a regular donor until he was well into his 30s. Before retiring from Shell Norco 20 years ago, Mike was part of a group dedicated to advertising the on-site blood drives through posters and word of mouth. Sometimes, he would bring a representative from The Blood Center into the control room to educate employees on the importance of blood donation.

When he reached retirement age, he found a surefire way to increase blood drive participation: luring people in with delicious, free food.

“We do it five times a year, always on a Tuesday and a Wednesday,” Mike said. “I’ll cook at my house at bring it over. At one time, we were getting 70, 80, 90, 100 people to come out.”

Mike starts the year off with red beans and smoked sausage. Other favorites include spaghetti gravy and summertime classic hotdogs with chili for blood drives near the Fourth of July.

In the meantime, he’s continued donating blood in eight-week increments, usually traveling to The Blood Center location in Metairie.

“The last certificate I got said I had donated 21 gallons. It’s probably closer to 22 gallons now,” Mike said. “They can’t make whole blood. You can’t produce that. It’s got to come from us. The only way people who need blood will get it is if it comes from a human.”

Donoo and younger brother Billy, the caboose of the family, usually join him for period blood donations.

Donoo started counting his blood donations in the late 1960s. Since then, he has given 235 times, but that doesn’t account for all the times he donated between 1954 and 1968. It all started when classmate Sandra Torres was diagnosed with leukemia, and Donoo wanted to do his part to help.

After that first donation, he realized it was a simple process with a far-reaching impact.

“You get a good feeling,” he said. “You feel like you have done something for somebody.”

That impact is often in hospital rooms out of sight, but Donoo came face-to-face with a life touched by blood donation years ago at the KC Hall in LaPlace. The KC Hall was sponsoring a dinner for all the donors who had given more than one gallon of blood. Donoo had donated the highest amount of anyone in the room with nine gallons at the time.

A woman with a young daughter, not more than 3 years old, said one of the people in the room likely saved her child’s life after she was diagnosed with leukemia at River Parishes Hospital.

When Donoo stood up to receive his recognition, the little girl ran to him and launched into his arms. All these years later, he still cries thinking about that moment.

“That was the most touching thing,” Donoo said. “How can you not want to give blood after something like this? Only four percent of the people who can give blood actually do. Lots of people give when they know someone who needs blood, like their parrain or their neighbor. Not a lot of people go give blood just to give.”

Donating blood together isn’t the only way the brothers bond. When Mike cooks for the Memorial Day Breakfast, Donoo is by his side, cracking two eggs in each hand to feed approximately 100 people.

Mike gets the supplies to serve biscuits, sausage, grits, orange juice and more. Brothers Jimmy, John and Billy also join in during the annual event.

Growing up in the Brady household, each sibling was identified by number. There was two girls, Catherine and the late Mary, and nine boys: P.J., the late Milton, Donoo, Jimmy, John, Pat, Mike, Bobby and Billy Brady. To this day, Donoo is called No. 3, and Mike is No. 8.

The entire family gathered for dinner at 6 p.m. each evening when their father arrived home from work, and no one was excused until everyone was finished eating. Every night, all of the siblings would kneel around their parents’ bed to say the Rosary. If friends were over, they would have to kneel and say the Rosary, too.

The family was always an inseparable unit, and that hasn’t changed in adulthood.

“We still enjoy getting together on a regular basis,” Mike said. “The whole family lives right here either in LaPlace or Reserve.”

Of course, every family gathering involves great food. P.J., one of the four veterans in the family, got Mike involved in cooking for the VFW and AARP.

“He called me and said, ‘the first Monday and the second Tuesday of every month, you belong to me,” Mike said. He’s still involved in both groups, along with brothers John and Jimmy.

Mike has previously supported Relay for Life, and he cooked for the St. Charles Catholic quarterback club and athletic banquets when his children attended the school.

Milton was another great cook in the family, according to Donoo. Those who don’t cook find other ways to help out.

“Our brother, Pat, would wash dishes and help serve at the AARP meetings,” Donoo said. “Bobby and Billy, the two youngest, would come to the VFW and wash dishes.”