Blood Donor Honored

— It’s safe to say Vern Brau isn’t afraid of needles.

Whenever there’s a blood drive at Northwest Technical Institute, the 85-year-old Brau is there. He was there again Tuesday, donating yet another pint. He’s now given 7 gallons during his life.

“It’s something to do,” Brau said with a grin. “It does make you feel better.”

After Brau made his milestone donation Tuesday, NTI staff members gathered in a meeting room to celebrate his accomplishment with him. A large sheet cake was served.

But the celebration wasn’t just about blood; it also was a chance to salute Brau for the 23 years he worked at NTI.

Brau worked part time doing maintenance at NTI, mainly mowing the grass and doing whatever else needed to be done. He decided to call it quits last month while most employees were on Christmas break.

“He always has a smile on his face,” said Patty Hall, NTI’s community education coordinator.

George Burch, NTI president, described Brau as honest and dedicated to his job.

“He got here on time every day,” Burch said. “He had his own little tractor here he liked to use. He didn’t want anyone else using his tractor.”

Burch also noted Brau’s dedication to his church, St. Raphael Catholic Church, where he participates in eucharistic adoration every day — sometimes in the middle of the night. In adoration, people come to pray and worship Jesus Christ continually throughout the day and night.

Brau is an Army veteran who spent 16 months in Korea during the Korean War, starting in 1950. The one thing he remembers best about that experience? “It was cold over there,” he said.

Roughly a pint of blood is drawn during each donation. There are 8 pints in a gallon. That means Brau has made 56 donations.

A donor can give up to six times a year, said Dave Montgomery, director of donor recruitment for the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks.

The blood center’s supply was deemed adequate Tuesday for all blood types except for O-negative. There is less than a two-day supply of O-negative for use by patients at the 37 hospitals the center serves, mostly in Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas.

Even after giving seven gallons of his blood, Brau said he’ll continue to give.

“As long as I can,” he said.

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