Battle of the Badges Blood Battle Royale to bring competition to local blood drives

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. – First responders in Berrien County are adding an element of competition to a series of local blood drives hosted by Versiti Blood Centers.

Each Berrien county department is encouraging community members to come out to a series of blood drives happening this week, and when those people donate, they add to an on-going vote of whoever asked them to the event.

As of Monday morning, the police lead the way with the most visited donors with two drives already in the books. 

Versiti Blood Centers is pushing hard this week to get donations, as the Summer months are often the lowest points of the year when it comes to donation numbers, according to Versiti spokesperson, Kristin Paltzer. 

“When the schools are not in session, we are not hosting community blood drives. Which means we are not bringing in blood that serves the hospitals and patients in our local communities. Especially during the summer this time of year right before everyone is heading back to school you know, families and blood donors are taking vacations; blood donation isn’t always top of mind.” said Paltzer.

Monday’s blood drive started at 9 a.m. and runs through 3 p.m. Battle of the Badges t-shirts will be given away while supplies last, and organizers tell donors to expect the process to take around an hour in total.

This is happening at the Niles Police Department. 

Walk-ins are welcome, although appointments are preferred, and can be set up here: Versiti – Saving Lives Together | Versiti