Northwest Missouri State University’s Student Senate will sponsor its annual fall blood drive Oct. 18-19 in collaboration with the Community Blood Center.

Northwest students, employees and community members are invited to donate blood between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. both days in the Tower View Room on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union. Interested donors should use the group code CZ to reserve an appointment at savealifenow.org/group.

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, vehicle crash victims needing blood for emergency surgeries and mothers needing blood as the result of traumatic birth deliveries. It is estimated three lives are saved with every unit collected.

“It is important to donate blood because the Community Blood Center has seen many shortages in blood supply and donating blood saves lives,” Camie Laughery, a senior business management major from Yale, Iowa, who serves as Student Senate’s civic service chair. “It is also a great way to give back to the community because you never know who might need it and would benefit from it.”

Northwest has sponsored blood drives for more than 45 years and has a reputation for its outstanding commitment to supporting blood donation in the region. The Community Blood Center honored Northwest as one of its top blood donors of 2018. Additionally, in 2015 and 2016, the Community Blood Center recognized Northwest as the top university among participating institutions in the region.

Student Senate’s winter blood drive is scheduled for Feb. 15-16, and its spring blood drive will occur in March.

For more information, contact Laughery at sencivc@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1218.