Rolled-up sleeves are a regular fashion statement for Jim Lord, who has become the third person in Canada to donate blood 1,000 times.

The 61-year-old man from Bedford, N.S. is also being honoured this week as the first Maritimer to log a thousand donations.

Needles and the sight of red vials intimidate some but do little to dissuade Lord from giving. He says the decision to donate is simple.

"There's a need and I'm able to do it, so I do it," he told CTV Halifax while reclining in a patient chair at the Halifax Blood Donor Clinic.

The Prince Edward Island native donated blood for the first time 43 years ago. He said he's become hooked on the positive feeling giving provides him.

"It makes you feel pretty darn good," he said.

Canadian Blood Services only allows donors to give whole blood every 56 days, which just wouldn't add up in this case. Lord, however, managed to reach his milestone in part by donating platelets and plasma -- components of whole blood that can be given in hours or days.

It still counts as a blood donation but the contribution process requires more than a standard needle, CBS spokesperson Paul Doucet told CTVNews.ca.

Donors are hooked up to a special machine which extracts their blood and sends it into a centrifuge. Platelets and plasma are separated from red blood cells, which are then returned to the donor.

"Most of the high milestone donors are plasma or platelet donors," said Doucet. "Every unit is of course valuable in it's own way."

Lord's efforts have been praised by Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly who estimates he's donated blood about 80 times.

The Halifax blood donor clinic itself has reached a milestone. It will be celebrating one year in its current location this year.

Peter MacDonald, CBS director of Donor and Clinic Services for Atlantic Canada, said it's been a successful 12 months.

"We've increased blood collection in Halifax by 18 per cent," he said, adding that the clinic has collected more than 18,000 units.

That's a number Lord intends to build on in the future. He figures that he can double his donation in as little as 24 years.

"It'll be 2,000 by the time I'm 85," he said.

Canadian blood donors must be at least 17 years old. Donors between the ages of 67 and 71 must be assessed by a doctor before rolling up their sleeves.

With a report from CTV Halifax's Paul Hollingsworth