On Pace

Saving Lives

Torrance Memorial’s “super blood donors” are superheroes.

Written by Melissa Bean Sterzick | Photographed by Siri Berting

Blood donations save lives. Donated blood helps patients survive serious illnesses, surgeries, cancer treatments and accidents. All blood types are needed, and they are needed every day. Donations made at Torrance Memorial are used within the hospital for patients from the surrounding community. It’s estimated that only 3% of eligible blood donors give blood once a year, but a group of generous South Bay residents has given enough to be called “super donors.”

John Linder, A positive

Not even a pandemic could keep John Linder from donating blood. “They had to be a little more careful. They just had one donor at a time. There were more checks, and we wore masks. But it didn’t stop me,” he says.

Linder has not only donated more than 23 gallons of blood, he’s also worked 14,000 volunteer hours at Torrance Memorial. Like all of Torrance Memorial’s super donors, Linder enjoys the free T-shirts and the high-donor dinners. He says the staff at the hospital’s blood donation center is like a family. “They take care of you,” he says.

Dave Nair, O positive

Dave Nair has been a regular blood donor since the 1970s. “One of the things that really struck me is blood only comes from us. You can’t manufacture blood—you can’t make it,” he says. “The blood I donate at Torrance Memorial means they don’t have to buy it from the Red Cross, because it’s very expensive.”

Nair sold promotional advertising materials before he retired. He was at a meeting at City of Hope when a representative from their donor department invited him to make a donation.

“I’ve got a vein you could throw a needle at from across the room and make it. Of course, I was trying to make a sale too. Then I started making a routine out of it,” he says.

Before he donates, Nair drinks a big glass of water. He says the process takes 45 minutes for him and he gets cookies and coffee when he’s finished. He is always telling people to donate blood. “I enjoy it,” he shares.

Sharon Woloszyk, O positive

Sharon Woloszyk started donating blood as a college student in memory of her grandma. “It was my freshman year, and the dorm had a blood drive. I thought, ‘What a great way to give back,’” she says.

These days, Woloszyk gives blood every eight weeks or five times a year. “I’m a person of routine. And they’re always so lovely at the donation center. We chat about their kids and where we’ve gone on vacation. I don’t like needles, so I say, ‘Please cover it up and get it out as fast as possible,’” she says.

Woloszyk says she always tries to bring someone with her when she gives blood.

Tony Mullikin, A positive

When Tony Mullikin was 18, the Moose Lodge in Gardena offered a free pancake breakfast for anyone who donated blood. He had a big appetite and thought it was a great deal.

Mullikin just retired, and that means gardening, fishing, biking and spending time with his wife, Tracy. But he has no intention of retiring from donating blood. “It’s enjoyable—I know that is a weird term for donating blood. It’s something I can do for free that helps somebody else,” he says.

Mullikin puts a high value on the relationships he and his family have formed with the doctors and nurses at the donation center. He tries to spread the word about donating blood in every way he can.

“Anybody can do what I have done. If they can stand the prick of a needle, they can do it. It takes maybe 35 to 45 minutes every 60 days,” he says.

Nancy Scott, A positive Tim Scott, O positive

Nancy and Tim Scott have turned their commitment to donating blood into a bit of healthy competition. “I have beaten him. I have more gallons than he does,” Nancy says. “Yes, it’s a competition. We even compete about our iron levels.”

“I can give blood faster than she can, and my iron is always higher than hers. But she beats me on cholesterol and blood pressure,” says Tim.

Nancy gave blood occasionally during her college years. She did it because her father always donated and she felt impressed to follow his example.

Tim’s grandfather influenced him to donate blood regularly. “He was born in 1902,” Tim shares. “He used to tell the story about how he might get a call in the middle of the night to come down to the hospital and lay down on a gurney next to the patient. They did direct transfusions in those days. They literally pumped the blood into the other guy directly,” he says.

The Scotts might be competing for “best iron levels” and “most pints given,” but they are loyal teammates when it comes to promoting the importance of donating blood.

Albro Lundy, A positive

A high school teacher inspired Albro Lundy to give blood for the first time when he was 16 years old. Since he moved to Palos Verdes in the mid-1990s, Lundy has given blood at Torrance Memorial every two to three months. For his birthday, he asks his family to donate blood instead of buying him gifts.

Besides the joy that comes with knowing his donations save lives, giving blood also led Lundy to his wife, Cathi. They met at a blood drive he organized when they were students at UCLA. It’s also a way he connects to his father, a fighter pilot who lost his life saving others in the Vietnam War.

“I’m an evangelist for blood donations. I don’t have any T-shirts that are not ‘donate blood’ T-shirts, and I wear them all the time. I bring them up as a talking point and invitation,” he says. “You do the things you can do to help, and it just cements in your heart that it’s the right thing.” •