By Sara McCarthy
Signal Staff Writer
Christ Lutheran Church is marking its ninth year of providing a community and church blood drive with UCLA Health, but that wasn’t the only milestone worth celebrating at the blood drive last week: The drive also marked Kurt Schreiner’s, 100th time donating blood.
Schreiner, a Santa Clarita Valley resident and organizer of Christ Lutheran’s blood drives, made the milestone donation July 17 at Christ Lutheran’s Fellowship Center on Tournament Road in Valencia with multiple members of both the church and community stepping up to provide for those in need of lifesaving blood.
Deborah Alter, a community liaison for UCLA Health Blood and Platelet Center, said Christ Lutheran has been a very loyal partner for UCLA Health, taking strides to supply blood during challenging times.
“We were doing it six times a year during COVID, a lot, and so it was really nice to have that consistency for donors, because the need for blood was still there,” said Alter.
The process of donating blood begins with a physical examination to ensure the body is healthy and able to successfully donate enough blood. During a donation, donors give 1 pint of blood out of the 10-12 pints that the body typically holds, which only takes about six to 10 minutes. The blood is then sent to UCLA for testing before being distributed to health care facilities.
It’s from donors just like Schreiner, said Alter, that patients’ lives are saved every day with needed blood.
“Donating blood seems like such an old-fashioned thing, but it’s still so important,” said Alter. “There’s nothing else that’s come around other than just a wonderful person saying, ‘You know what, I’m going to donate blood to save a life.’”
Once he was ready, Schreiner took his seat and began the donation process. Considering his experience, he stayed calm and collected, explaining that his best advice for new donors is to remember what you’re donating for.
Schreiner said his motivation to start donating blood was the 9/11 attacks in 2001, along with being able to find out his blood type.
“It was so easy. I just kept donating and then started organizing the blood drives here at church,” said Schreiner. “It really just comes down to the lives that you’re literally saving without knowing that you’re saving lives. You don’t know the people. It’s all anonymous. So you have no idea, but you know it’s going to be used.”
Schreiner also shared encouragement for anyone eligible to donate blood, adding that only 3% of eligible people in the U.S donate blood each year.
“At least try it once, and bring a friend. It’s better when you bring someone. Especially if people are skittish, they can get a little encouragement from coming in a group,” said Schreiner.
It’s the nature of selflessness, said Alter, that makes Schreiner’s milestone so inspiring.
“He’s obviously not done 100 donations for himself,” said Alter. “So not only has he saved 100 lives or more, up to 300 lives really, the way that he’s done these blood drives over so many years, it’s just such a huge number of lives he’s saved. I mean, it’s incredible.”
Schreiner says he will continue to donate blood, motivating others to take that small step of donating to make a large impact.
“What an easy way to make an impact in the community, because you know the blood is going to be used in the community,” said Schreiner. “Blood will get used, it’s not going to go bad, so you know that whatever you’re donating, it’s not only for a good cause, but an immediate cause.”
For more information on UCLA Health Blood and Platelet Center and how to donate, visit www.uclahealth.org/programs/gotblood.