Parker woman becomes Colorado's first female 90-gallon blood donor

Chris Orr of Parker became Colorado’s first female 90-gallon blood donor Tuesday, when Vitalant marked the milestone at its Parker Road donation center in Douglas County. Family and friends gathered there Tuesday morning, July 7, to celebrate the 72-year-old’s donation record, which stretches back to 1975.

The milestone lands in a blood system that depends on repeat donors. Vitalant says someone in the U.S. needs blood or platelets every 2 seconds, about 30,000 units of red blood cells are needed each day, and another 6,000 units each of platelets and plasma are needed daily. Red blood cells can be used for up to 42 days, while platelets have a much shorter shelf life and must be used within a week, which makes regular donations especially important.

Orr has made more than 730 donations of blood, platelets or plasma, according to Vitalant. FOX31’s report said she comes in every two weeks to give platelets and plasma, a pace that helps explain how a single donor can keep contributing for decades and still reach a 90-gallon total. Vitalant also says platelets may be donated every 7 days and plasma every 28 days.

The Parker recognition also fits a broader Colorado pattern. In 2023, 9NEWS reported on another Vitalant donor milestone in Louisville, where a resident reached 90 gallons. Orr’s record is the latest sign that these large totals are built not on one dramatic donation, but on a long routine of returning again and again.

For Douglas County, the practical value is immediate. Blood and platelet donors help cover the ongoing needs of surgery patients, accident victims, cancer patients and people with chronic medical conditions, and Vitalant’s numbers show why the supply never stays still for long. Orr’s decades of visits turned one Parker donor into a statewide milestone, and the blood center on Parker Road used the occasion to underscore how much the local system depends on people who keep showing up.