One-day blood drive part of annual CMU-WMU challenge

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University students have set Thursday, April 7, for the Bronco Blood Bash, a blood drive to set a state record for donations during a single, university drive and the only local drive planned for this year's CMU-WMU blood collection challenge.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the Bernhard Center Ballroom on the WMU campus. All members of the University and Greater Kalamazoo communities are invited to participate.

About the challenge

According to the Facebook page for WMU's student Red Cross Club, this is the 19th year of the friendly CMU vs. WMU challenge, and WMU hopes to keep up its three consecutive years of dominance in the competition by collecting more than 403 units of blood during Bronco Blood Bash.

By collecting that many units, the club would beat the University of Michigan's current record for blood collection in the state as well as have a chance to end the year as the university to have brought out the largest number of donors to a Michigan blood drive during 2016.

Everyone who shows up to donate blood April 7 will receive a free hero T-shirt. Walk-ins are welcome; however, making an appointment will result in faster processing.

To make an appointment, go to the American Red Cross website at redcrossblood.org and type donorsassemble (all one word) in the search box, download and use the Blood Donor App, or call (800) 733-2767.

For the fastest experience possible, those planning to donate should complete a RapidPass as well as schedule a donation appointment. RapidPass, explained at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass, allows donors to complete necessary paperwork at home and save about 15 minutes during the donation process.

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