Giving Back

Ernie Weckbaugh just keeps giving and giving and giving.

Every 56 days in fact--barring sniffles or a bout with laryngitis--the 68-year-old Burbank resident rolls up his sleeve, puts his feet up and lets Josephine--a nurse with an “easy touch”--take his blood.

Why? Because he can.

“You got to do what you can do,” he says in a singsong voice. “And I can do it! So I do!”

Blood donors must be at least 17, weigh more than 110 pounds and be in good health. Weckbaugh meets those criteria. According to experts, so do 60% of people nationwide, but only about 5% donate blood. And only 3% of Southern Californians give.

“It’s pretty pathetic,” said Tim Smith, blood donor recruiting coordinator at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where Weckbaugh regularly makes his donation. “One bad trauma could wipe us out.”

Recently, three Los Angeles-area hospitals were forced to postpone surgeries due to an alarmingly low blood supply, according to Linda Goss of the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center.

The holidays are notoriously slow for blood donations, but add that to the region’s recent bout with the flu and you’ve got a potential problem on your hands, experts say.

“We need more Ernies,” Smith said. “If everyone gave just two or three times a year, we’d never have a shortage.”

People shy away from giving because they are fearful, haven’t been asked to do it or think it’s inconvenient.

Weckbaugh likens a needle prick to the pulling sensation of plucking out a hair. “There’s nothing to it,” he said.

Weckbaugh started his lifelong blood drive in 1972 when he needed two pints of blood after minor surgery.

“I started to realize I should give it back,” he said. “That’s only fair.” Since then, he’s given 18 gallons. His goal is 25.

“Giving blood became a habit for me,” he said. “Like going to the dentist.”

But Weckbaugh easily prefers giving blood to a dentist’s drill.

“It’s extremely enjoyable,” he said. “It’s a wonderful way to relax in the middle of the day.” Weckbaugh especially likes the treats donors receive afterward, like cookies and juice.

Typically, giving blood takes about an hour, which includes being interviewed, getting a quick physical, five to 10 minutes to actually draw the blood and then a recovery period.

For Weckbaugh, it’s an occasional hour that can make a difference.

“I met a lady who needed 36 pints of blood,” he said. “She gave me a big hug and told me if not for blood donations, she probably wouldn’t be alive.”

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According to a 1998 nationwide survey conducted by the National Blood Data Resource Center in Bethesda, Md., just one pint of blood can save several lives. The organization estimates that someone in the U.S. needs blood every three seconds, as does one out of every 10 patients entering a hospital.

If Weckbaugh--who played “Stinky” on the original “Our Gang” series with the Little Rascals--could give more, he would. But the body must rejuvenate and restore blood that is taken, so he’s allowed to donate only about every two months.

At that pace, Weckbaugh estimates it’ll take him another 10 years to make his goal.

“Heroes are people who run into burning buildings,” he said. “I help save people’s lives and they give me cookies for it.”

For more information, prospective donors should check local hospitals to see if they have a blood donor center, or visit https://www.aabb.org for donation sites.

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