Parents of infant who died in NICU hosting Colorado blood drive in son's memory
Blood donations are needed to help patients in Colorado. Denver Health is partnering with American Red Cross and the Cooper Steinhauser Foundation in an effort to get as many people to donate as possible.
The three organizations say every time a person gives blood, it saves up to three lives. Most people can be donors, however you cannot be if you have gotten a tattoo over the last six months, are anemic or have recently been out of the country.
Founders of the Cooper Steinhauser Foundation Haley and Edward Steinhauser met with CBS Colorado First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter Brian Sherrod to discuss the importance of giving blood. The organization helps NICU infants and their mothers who need blood transfusions.
The Steinhausers lost their baby Cooper two years ago. He was born in February 2022 and passed away three months later in May after spending time in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Cooper had a total of 13 blood transfusions, after undergoing three surgeries. His mother Haley also received blood transfusions after delivery.
"Our son Cooper had 13 blood transfusions due to just daily blood tests," Edward Steinhauser, founder of Cooper Steinhauser Foundation, said. "As a little baby, they don't produce their blood like adults do so they need to be replenished as well as having surgeries."
"Someone needs blood every 2 seconds of every single day all across the world," Haley Steinhauser, founder of Cooper Steinhauser Foundation, said. "Blood is not replaceable. It's the only thing that you can give so if people provide blood donations it is important for survival, especially for young children."
The blood drive will run until 3 p.m. at Denver Health. If you can't make it and would like to give, you can head to CooperSteinhauserFoundation.org.
