The Student Senate will sponsor its annual fall blood drive, in cooperation with the Community Blood Center, Oct. 22-24. (Northwest Missouri State University photo)

The Northwest Missouri State University Student Senate, in conjunction with Homecoming week activities at the University, will sponsor its annual fall blood drive in cooperation with the Community Blood Center, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 22.

The blood drive continues through Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Tower View Room, located on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

As in recent years, the University also will compete with Missouri Western State University to collect the most units of blood.

Interested donors may pre-register online by visiting https://donate.savealifenow.org/donor/schedules/zip.

“The blood drive is extremely important, not only to Senate and students on campus, but also to the community of Maryville and surrounding areas,” Delaney Smail, a senior biomedical sciences major from Grimes, Iowa, and the co-chair of Student Senate’s Civic Service Committee, said. “Drives like the ones we put on campus make all the difference.”

The Community Blood Center is the primary supplier of blood and blood components in the region, serving more than 65 local hospitals and medical centers. Student Senate annually sponsors fall, winter and spring blood drives in cooperation with the Community Blood Center to boost blood supplies in northwest Missouri.

Blood from volunteer donors assists cancer patients recovering from the rigors of chemotherapy, auto accident victims needing blood for emergency surgeries or mothers needing blood as the result of traumatic birth deliveries. It is estimated three lives are saved with every unit collected.

Northwest has sponsored blood drives since at least 1973 and earned a reputation for its outstanding commitment to supporting blood donation in the region. In 2015, 2016 and 2018, the Community Blood Center recognized Northwest and its Student Senate as the top university among participating institutions in the region.

For more information, contact Student Senate’s Civic Service Committee at sencivc@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1218 or the Community Blood Center at 800.245.7035.