MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Student Senate at Northwest Missouri State University will sponsor its annual spring blood drive April 11-13 in cooperation with the Community Blood Center to boost blood supplies in northwest Missouri.

The blood drive will be the last of the 2016-17 academic year, and Northwest will again compete with Missouri Western State University to collect the most units of blood.

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. 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.

During Northwest’s October blood drive, donors gave 392 units of blood, helping Northwest win a competition with Missouri Western to collect the most blood. Northwest donors provided an additional 185 units during a January blood drive. During the 2016-17 academic year, Northwest blood drives have collected enough blood to impact more than 1,700 lives.

The blood drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday in the Tower View Room, located on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union.

Interested donors may register online by visiting savealifenow.org. There, click the “Schedule an appointment” icon and enter the code: NWMSU.

For more information, contact Student Senate’s Civic Committee at (660) 562-1218 or the Community Blood Center at (800) 245-7035.