GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — During winter blood donations typically decrease, which is why West Michigan blood centers need your help right now.
It’s also why Michigan State Police is challenging other law enforcement agencies for the third annual 'Battle of the Badges' blood drive.
During the holiday season when the weather gets colder and the snow starts to fall crashes on the roads become more common.
It’s something first responders see often and the reason behind the battle of the badges blood drive.
“As a police officer, you do see a lot of the bad crashes. And so, this is just one opportunity for us to give back to the communities in such a very personal way where you are providing your blood, and you know that it's going to save somebody else's life," Lt. Michelle Robinson, Public Information Officer, Michigan State Police, said.
MSP is partnering with Versiti Blood Center of Michigan for the blood drive.
“There is a critical need right now we're going into the holiday season, the roads just started getting icy, people are staying in or going shopping online and not getting out and about, and they're forgetting about donating blood because they're so busy," Dawn Kaiser, Director of Donor Services for Versiti, said.
Versiti provides more than 55% of the blood supply for hospitals across the state and it’s the primary provider for West Michigan.
“You never know when a crisis will happen. We get that all the time from our hospitals, they call us in the middle of the night, saying we have a what we call a mass transfusion protocol. And we need to get 50 or 60 units of blood stat. So that's why it's super important to have that blood on hand. Blood is medicine. Patients cannot live without it," Kaiser said.
You don’t have to be a law enforcement official to participate in the blood drive.
“If a member of the community wants to come in and donate, they can say I am donating on behalf of the Kent County Sheriff's Department. So, then they would get one vote,” Robinson said.
The goal is 22 donors.
"What happens is they take that, and it automatically goes to a recipient that's scheduled for surgery. So as a as a participant as a donor, you don't have to worry about is it being stored or somebody getting it, they already have those lined up," Robinson said.
And with it being the season of giving this is one way you can give the gift of life.
The battle of the badges is Tuesday, Dec 5th.
It’s from 11 am to 3:30 pm at the Michigan state police headquarters located on 4 mile road in Grand Rapids.
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