Brighton Fire Mobile Blood Drive

Brighton Fire Rescue District - Station 55 will be hosting a Children's Hospital Colorado Mobile Blood drive on Friday, July 29th from 8:30am to 12:15pm.

Help us spread the word! We need at least 28 donors on the schedule to meet the hospital’s surgery and transfusion needs. If we are unable to meet our needs we have to purchase blood from other area centers at an extremely high cost. There are plenty of available appointments if you would be interested in donating, click the sign up link below. The process takes about 30 to 45 minutes total, from arrival, paperwork, a brief interview to the actual blood draw.

Please CLICK HERE to sign up!

Location:  15959 Havana St, Brighton, CO 80602 - Map

Remember to have something to eat and hydrate beforehand, we will have snacks available after your donation! Donors will need to bring their government issued ID’s (passport or driver’s ID) to each donation. Please know that 30 minutes of your time could mean a lifetime to a child in need!

You may be eligible to donate blood if you:

• Are in good health
• Have not donated blood in the last 56 days
• Are symptom free of a cold or flu
• Are at least 18 years of age, or 17 with written parental consent
• Weigh at least 110 pounds
• Have not delivered a baby in the last six weeks
• Have no history of, or risk factors for, HIV/AIDS
• Have not had any tattoos or body piercings within the last year
• Have not traveled to a malaria risk area within the last year
  • If you have traveled to Mexico, the Caribbean, and or Central or South America in the last 28 days, we are asking you to hold off on donating until it has been more than 28 days after your return to the United States.
• Have not spent 3 months or more in the UK from 1980 to present
• Answer a series of medical history/lifestyle questions which determine eligibility
• Please remember to bring your Government Issued ID (driver's license or passport) to each donation.
• For any questions, call 720-777-5398 or email donate4kids@childrenscolorado.org

Donating blood helps patients like Juniper:

Sitting on a shelf in 1-year-old Juniper’s bedroom is a picture of a small, red medical device. The image looks out of place, and yet it’s displayed proudly amid the family pictures, stuffed animals and artwork of brightly-colored animals. This prized photograph depicts a Berlin Heart, the very device that kept Juniper alive for six months when her own heart wouldn’t work on its own. 

“Without it, she wouldn’t be alive,” said Juniper’s mother, Joni.

At just two weeks old, Juniper was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease that weakens and enlarges the two lower chambers of the heart. The condition limits the amount of blood that the heart can pump to the rest of the body.

Prior to Juniper’s birth, her mother and father had no indication that anything was amiss.  Now, they found themselves living in Children’s Hospital Colorado, awaiting a heart transplant for their first-born child. Doctors told them Juniper had a 50-50 chance of surviving.

“It was really hard in the beginning,” said Joni. “We didn’t know if she was going to make it.”

When Juniper was 7 weeks old, doctors thought they had found a match for a donor heart. But hope soon turned to devastation when it was discovered that the donor heart wasn’t usable. As Juniper’s heart started to fail – and no transplant organ identified – a team of doctors at the Children’s Colorado Heart Institute performed surgery to implant a Berlin Heart, an assist device that essentially functions as a heart outside the body.

Juniper was one of the smallest patients ever to receive the device at Children’s Colorado – and it was the only thing keeping her alive.

Finally, at 6 months old, Juniper was matched to a donor.  Doctors performed a heart transplant surgery– the 400th such surgery to be performed at Children’s Colorado. This time, Juniper’s new heart was a perfect match.  Just eight days later, Juniper was able to go home for the first time in her life.

“The high point was the day we left the hospital,” said Joni.

Juniper has continued to grow and thrive, and she celebrated her first birthday last February.

“It was pretty emotional because we really didn’t know if she was going to have a first birthday,” said Joni. “It was also bittersweet, because I thought about the day she was born and how excited I was and how we didn’t know what was in store. So I cried a little bit, but it was also really happy.”

Today, Joni says she is grateful. Grateful for the care Juniper received at Children’s Colorado.  Grateful for her daughter’s new heart.  Grateful for every moment that she spends with her growing child.

“I never would have wanted this for my family or my child,” said Joni. “But in some ways it has helped me to appreciate the simpler things – like your child’s health. It certainly gives you a perspective change.”

Your contribution makes an incredible difference for our patients and families every day. Without blood, we would not be able to perform many lifesaving procedures performed at Children’s Hospital Colorado each day.

Thank you for your generosity.