Roker previously shared that he lost “half the blood” in his body while undergoing several serious surgeries in 2022.
Craig Melvin once donated blood to help his longtime friend and colleague.
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On Monday, July 28, the 46-year-old co-anchor gave blood live on the Today show to encourage others to do the same. As the segment moved into the 3rd Hour of Today, weatherman Al Roker praised those who donate blood regularly.
“I’m a living example of being a recipient of those donations during my health issues,” Roker, who has been open about his past health challenges, shared.
“That’s right, because I came over and gave,” Melvin recalled. “I wanted to make sure it was earmarked for you.”
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Roker couldn’t resist a joke, teasing Melvin, “Yeah, in fact, after I got Craig’s blood, I started talking slower and I started drinking more bourbon. So, bonus!”.
Earlier in the segment, Roker pranked Melvin while he was giving blood, putting his face next to the journalist while he was turned in the opposite direction before shouting, “What do you want your legacy to be?” and causing Melvin to jump.
Melvin has been a part of the Today family since 2018. This past January, he officially joined as a co-anchor of the main news hour opposite Savannah Guthrie after Hoda Kotb exited the show.
As for Roker, he has been a weatherman for Today since 1996, filling in for weatherman Willard Scott before replacing him after his retirement.
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Roker has been open about his various health struggles while working on Today, including talking about his bypass surgery in 2012 to help with his weight. In 2020, he shared that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and in 2022, Roker struggled with blood clots that caused him to miss covering the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years.
He was hospitalized multiple times after doctors found blood clots in his leg and lungs. At the time, his wife, Deborah Roberts, told the Today show in Jan. 2023 that Roker had “major, major surgery” and his doctor described his condition as “life-threatening.”
“I’d lost half my blood,” Roker told PEOPLE of the experience during a June 2025 interview.
He shared that he endured a nearly seven-hour surgery for two bleeding ulcers that included removing his gall bladder and having his colon resectioned. He came very close to dying.
“It was frightening beyond belief,” Roberts told PEOPLE. “It’s the toughest thing we’ve ever endured as a family and a couple.”
Roker, whose years-long commitment to health probably saved his life, added, “My doctor said if I had not been in the shape I had been, I would most likely not be here today.”
