Malcolm David Orr

Dr. Malcolm D. Orr, a distinguished member of the Department of Anesthesiology from 1978-2012, passed away peacefully at home, under hospice care and surrounded by his family, on Thursday, December 3, 2015, at the age of 76. Dr. Orr earned his M.B.B.S. from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University in 1969. From 1970-1971, he completed a fellowship in biochemistry and nutrition at the University of Pittsburg, Graduate School of Public Health, followed by anesthesiology residency training at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine from 1971-1973. He remained at Pittsburg on medical staff until his recruitment to UTHSCSA in 1978 by anesthesiology chair, Dr. R. Brian Smith. Dr. Orr retired from UTHSCSA in July 2012 at the rank of Professor with Tenure after 34 years of distinguished service.

Dr. Orr was an outstanding physician-scientist, and teacher: unfailingly professional, collegial, and respectful to colleagues, students, and patients alike. He was a role model on honesty, integrity, and reliability. Throughout the decades, Dr. Orr successfully anesthetized thousands of grateful patients, and he helped mentor over 300 anesthesia residents, many of whom practice anesthesia in Texas and surrounding states. Dr. Orr also had many research interests and a great love on machinery and engineering. He was expert in blood transfusion, blood filtering/salvage, and infection control in the operating room. He helped design and test the first blood salvage machines that allow a patient's blood to be recirculated during surgery thus avoiding the need for transfusion. Over his career, Dr. Orr garnered 11 honors and awards for his research.

As a "transplanted" Australian, Dr. Orr was empathetic to the cultural adjustments for foreign graduate students and faculty joining UTHSCSA. In 2007, Dr. and Mrs. Orr received the Special Presidential Award for Service to the International Alliance in recognition of their many years of devotion to this endeavor.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jennifer; his four children, Dr. Katharine Balbuena, Dr. Luis Balbuena, and their children, Alexis and Natalie from Marshall, TX, Mitchell McGregor Orr (doctoral student in Higher Education at the University of the Incarnate Word), Victoria Orr-Kirsch, graduate student Nurse Practitioner Program at UTHSCSA and children, Mackenzie and Travis Kirsch, Lachlan Orr, Senior Engineer with Q2 Software and his wife, Aline from Austin, TX; Malcolm's sisters in Australia, Dr. Aldyth Love, Judith McWhirter Orr, Meredith Bell and their extended families.

Services for Dr. Orr will be held on Friday, December 11, 2015 at 12 Noon in Sunset Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.