Louisville 90-year-old celebrates becoming 90-gallon blood donor

You could say Virgil Olson has put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to Vitalant’s blood donation center over the years. But more than anything, it’s been a whole lot of blood.

Vitalant celebrated the 90-year-old Louisville resident as he made his 90th gallon donation Thursday at Vitalant’s newly-renovated Boulder Donation Center at 3113 28th St.

For Olson, 90 gallons of his Type AB-positive is roughly the equivalent of 720 visits to donate blood.

“I think it’s very important,” Olson said. “It’s a very simple process, giving blood is no big deal at all and they need the blood. A very small percentage of the American population donates blood, so I just feel like I like to be able to do my part.”

Olson is among only a handful of Vitalant blood donors in Colorado who have reached the 90-gallon mark and is the first to do so at the Boulder donation center. Vitalant’s Mountain Division Vice President Anne Burtchaell said a few remarks on Thursday in Olson’s honor and presented him with a special plaque before his donation.

Olson has been donating blood with Vitalant since he was 18 years old, with his first donation dating back to 1960 when he first moved to Colorado. Olson said his father and brothers would donate blood whenever the Red Cross came into their hometown of Columbus, Neb., and that’s what inspired him to do the same.

Having spent most of his time within Colorado in Lakewood, Olson moved to Louisville in 1997 shortly after retiring from the Coors Brewing Company. Olson said he is currently the leading donor for all of Boulder County.

“It’s donors like Virgil that really inspire us to do what we do,” said Brooke Way, communications manager for Vitalant. “He’s been saving so many lives throughout his lifetime and to reach 720 donations is just an amazing feat. Those platelet donations especially, take up more than two hours at time, and he is just such a dedicated individual for coming in time after time to give blood with us.”

Way said that Olson donates platelets regularly, which are always in demand for critical situations such as open-heart surgeries, organ transplants, and cancer patients. Way added that due to the “very short shelf life” that platelets have, lasting only one week, it is important to have loyal platelet donors like Olson to continuously replenish the supply.

Way said there is currently an ongoing summer blood shortage, and Vitalant is urging all eligible donors to schedule a blood donation in August to replenish the supply for patients. The need is especially critical, Way said, for type O blood which is the most transfused blood type. O-negative can be used to help patients with any blood type and O-positive can help any patient with a positive blood type.

“We really need some new first time donors coming in to give blood and making it a regular part of their routine,” Way said. “These wonderful donors like Virgil who have been giving throughout their lives are great but we need the new generation of blood donors coming out and making it a regular activity in their lives.”

For additional information or to make an appointment to give at vitalant.org, or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825).

“I would encourage anyone that has the time to do it to try giving blood, it’s a very important thing,” Olson said. “They’ve told me I’ve saved hundreds of people over the years; I’m glad I can give blood and I’m healthy enough to do it.”