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Black History Month 2025

Blood and Platelet Center’s luncheon brings together donors and recipients

Luka Simunac and his donors posing at the Blood and Platelet Center’s annual donor appreciation luncheon. (Courtesy of Jonah Danesh)

By Jonah Danesh

Aug. 3, 2024 8:37 p.m.

This post was updated Aug. 4 at 10:34 p.m.

Luka Simunac met 17 of the donors who helped save his life at the Blood and Platelet Center’s annual donor appreciation luncheon July 17th.

This day was the Blood and Platelet Center’s 25th annual donor recognition luncheon. The event aims to appreciate the lifesavers in the community and offers the opportunity for patients to meet their donors.

Simunac was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disease, and required 58 blood transfusions over three months. Today, Simunac, 15, is healthy because of the physicians and the bone marrow, blood and platelet donors who saved his life.

[RELATED: World Blood Donor Day ceremony highlights relationships between donors, patients]

Maya Polimac, Simunac’s mother, said at the luncheon that she has the utmost appreciation for her son’s donors.

“All your 58 transfusions came into play to help sustain his daily function – ability to breathe, sleep, eat and be alive,” Polimac said. “How do you thank somebody for saving your son’s life and keeping him alive, keeping all of us alive?”

Despite the medical challenges he faced, Simunac said the unwavering support from the blood donors and the dedicated medical team provided a lifeline for him and his family. This collective effort not only sustained Simunac’s daily functions but also offered hope and a reminder of the community’s compassion and generosity.

“Even though my condition was worsening and the doctors were telling me it wasn’t getting better, at least I could rely on your guys’ generosity, selflessness and consistency to donate blood to save my life,” Simunac said.

Simunac and his mother also spoke about his active engagement with soccer and his access to community that was immediately halted when he developed his disease. However, they said those same communities stood by him through his recovery – many of his teammates’ parents became regular platelet and blood donors.

Simunac pictured with his family and one of his donors at the event.
Simunac pictured with his family and one of his donors at the event. (Jonah Danesh/Daily Bruin)

Dr. Satiro De Oliveira, a pediatric hematologist at UCLA Health and Simunac’s physician, said Simunac’s severe aplastic anemia is a rare disease where the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells for the body.

“For most cases, it seems to be mediated by the immune system attacking the young cells,” De Oliveira said. “The problem is when this is really getting progressive, someone will be dependent on blood transfusions, and they won’t get better without treatment.”

De Oliveira also said that one approach to treatment is to use immunosuppression to reduce the immune system’s attack on blood-forming cells. However, in severe cases such as Simunac’s, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant from a healthy donor is often necessary. Simunac received his bone marrow transplant from an international donor who was a perfect match, highlighting the importance of global donor registries.

Polimac added that her son is now cured and ready to start his school year in the fall.

“Through all the odds, after the bone marrow transplant, after all the transfusions, he is here with us today, cured and going into 10th grade,” Polimac said.

The Blood and Platelet Center also recognized campus and community partners who have made significant contributions through personal donations and hosting drives.

UCLA’s top donor was recognized for donating 228 pints of blood, said Tom King, the campus blood donor recruiter for the Blood and Platelet Center. King also said he wanted to express gratitude for newer donors, including Sarah Molitoris, associate director of the transfer student center, who has donated platelets 27 times in under two years.

Reuben Noorvash, a rising third-year psychobiology student, is a regular donor and on the board of Bruin Blood Initiative, a campus organization that works to highlight the importance of donating blood and helps students do so in partnership with the Blood and Platelet Center, according to the Bruin Blood Initiative website.

“It’s amazing knowing that your blood is being put to use. Usually, all you get to see is your blood being taken out … but now being able to see who it saved and how they’re doing now … It’s amazing to see the effect,” Noorvash said.

Jonathan Batac, a recent alumnus and staff member of the Blood and Platelet Center, said he appreciates the diversity of the donors as well as their commitment to helping their community.

“A lot of donors don’t even realize that they are truly making an impact,” Batac said. “To actually see the person who’s alive and well today because of that is honestly life-changing.”

Batac added that the event provided a unique platform for donors to understand the real-life impact of their contributions.

The event took place in Kerckhoff Grand Salon.
The event took place in Kerckhoff Grand Salon. (Jonah Danesh/Daily Bruin)

Eric De Cair, director of the Blood and Platelet Center, said that donors played an important role in saving lives and advancing medical care, as witnessed through Simunac’s journey.

“I really encourage you to continue this spirit of generosity to encourage others to donate,” De Cair said. “I also challenge all of you to do that as well.”

Polimac said she hopes donors will continue to give for others who are still battling medical challenges.

“I want you to also consider us but at the same time consider many others that still continue to rely on your generosity, your humility, your self-awareness and selflessness,” Polimac said.

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