Colorado donors line up to give blood at Red Cross blood donation event, some for the first time

The Red Cross is partnering with a Denver window and siding company to help collect blood donations.

On Tuesday, the American Red Cross and Lifetime Windows and Siding hosted a blood drive at the company's Denver showroom to raise awareness about the ongoing need for blood donations and to encourage the community to become regular donors.

Rhonda McPherson used to give blood regularly but said it had been a while since she gave.

"I have lots of kids and we've had different things happen with our kids and they've needed blood transfusions so it's important," she said.

McPherson lives in Byers and drove almost 40 minutes due to a lack of donation locations in her area: "It was definitely worth coming in to do."

Tuesday was the first time Brison Monroe, a marketing and call center employee at Lifetime, ever donated blood. Learning how many lives blood donations can help save moved him to action.

"The reason I did it is I heard I can save up to three lives or nine babies, so sign me up. If I can save a life, good enough for me," he said. "It's an amazing opportunity for everybody to get the chance to save a life -- or nine."

CoCo Criste, director of public relations for Lifetime Windows and Siding, said after the Red Cross was seeking locations for blood drives, the company stepped up and offered their showroom floor.

She says 12 employees donated blood on Tuesday, which falls in line with the company's efforts to enhance communities, as well as their homes.

According to the Red Cross, someone needs blood every two seconds and approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells and nearly 5,000 units of platelets and 6.500 units of plasma are needed every day in the U.S.

"This was an opportunity for us to open our doors and use our showroom for good today," Criste said. "We had great success today and I hope to open our doors for good again."