( CNN ) -- Margaret Delfino donated her 200th pint of blood last week , bringing her total to to more than 25 gallons . Maragaret Delfino has been donating blood since 1954 . She has donated more than 25 gallons of blood . Delfino , a 90-year-old great-grandmother in Bakersfield , California , began giving blood in 1954 . She donated regularly until 2001 , when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer . After five years of treatment , her doctors declared her cancer-free and she then continued donating . Now she brings several family members with her when she donates at the Houchin Blood Bank in Bakersfield , hoping they 'll donate , too . Delfino says only a small percentage of people in her area donate blood . `` To think in Kern County that there are only 3 percent who give blood when there are so many who are able to donate , '' she said . Delfino wants to get the message out for more people to donate . `` It can mean the difference between life and death for some people , '' she said . She said she believes that donating blood is one reason she may have survived her cancer . `` Because I donated all that blood , and the doctors were changing my blood , is why I came through the cancer the way I did , '' she said . Delfino has plenty of family support , too , and she would like to see her family members follow in her footsteps . `` She 's just an inspiration to all of us , '' said Jennifer Parks , Delfino 's granddaughter . `` She 's been a huge part of my children 's lives , who are now 9 , 8 and 5 . My children know where her interest lies and that is in donating blood . '' Jennifer does not donate , but her sister Natalie does . `` Natalie and my grandmother coordinate their days so they donate together , '' said Parks . `` My grandmother drives herself to the blood bank , which is about six miles , and it 's a date they have every eight weeks . '' All three of Delfino 's children , two grand-children and four of eight great-grand-children live in Bakersfield . Delfino says it is the children who keep her motivated . The great-grandmother still lives in her own home on slightly more than an acre of property and enjoys gardening , planting flowers and time with family . CNN 's Rick Vincent contributed to this report .
Margaret Delfino , 90 , began donating blood in 1954 in Bakersfield , California . Delfino was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2001 , but has since recovered . Delfino : `` It can mean the difference between life and death for some people ''