It’s difficult to summarize my gratitude for Ron Gilcher. During 23 years (1984 – 2007) at OBI he was my boss, mentor and friend. He was such a brilliant and natural doctor, never happier than when taking care of patients and their families. He said that if you listen to a patient long enough, they will give you the diagnosis. And he always took the time to listen. He was, of course, a visionary in blood banking, leading the charge (and taking on the FDA) for the latest testing to ensure the safest blood possible for patients. But he also took care of blood donors, never taking them for granted, and was a leader in providing benefits such as cholesterol and PSA testing. Those of us who worked with ROG heard him say a bazillion times “If you’re not the lead dog, the view never changes” and while it was sometimes exhausting to keep up with the lead dog, it was always interesting.
His impact on the medical side of blood banking is well known, but he was also revered in donor recruitment. In my last conversation with him, several weeks before his death, he told me to be sure to extend his gratitude to the “old gang” of recruiters, saying he couldn’t have done his job without them. He remembered well the early years at OBI, when there was never enough blood. He told me numerous times that he could handle any medical emergency if he had enough blood. As the person responsible for donor recruitment for so long, I can assure you that the recruiters adored him right back for the countless hours he spent teaching all of us the medical side of blood banking, or at least enough to give us confidence to speak intelligently to groups at businesses, hospitals, military bases, churches, schools and communities. He empowered and trusted us to do our jobs. He respected donor recruitment professionals and our expertise, which also endeared him to donor recruiters around the country. My colleagues on the national level always requested Dr. G as a speaker at national conferences, and were eager to know his thoughts about blood banking issues. They were in awe of the time he spent with his recruitment staff, as that was certainly not the norm in most blood centers.
We went through an awful lot together, including the scary early days of HIV, the OKC Bombing, catastrophic tornadoes, the early days of OKC’s liver transplant program (requiring large quantities of blood), the deaths of beloved employees and also happy times, like attending the wedding of OBI’s first poster child. I’ll always treasure the “windshield” conversations we had while flying around the state in his Corvette for speaking engagements or donor events. Right now I would love to know his thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic. I will always appreciative what he taught me, the doors he opened, his trust in me and above all his friendship. While I am so sad that Ron has passed away, like so many others I am grateful to have had him in my life. There will never be another Ron Gilcher.
Continued prayers and thoughts of comfort and peace to Firuza, Jordan, Lauren and all of the family.
Suzanne McCombs
