PROVO, Utah (ABC4 Utah) – The Provo Police and Fire Departments are joining forces with the American Red Cross of Southern and Central Utah on Thursday, August 21, at the Provo City Library for a blood drive to encourage all in the community to come out and donate. The blood drive is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 21 from 1 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Provo City Library, 550 N University Ave., Provo.

This is the first year Provo has hosted a Battle of the Badges Blood Drive as a friendly competition between our first responders to encourage blood donation.

Appointments are currently available. Donors are encouraged to secure an appointment using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Use the sponsor code “ProvoBloodBattle” when scheduling.

• If immediate slots are unavailable, donors are urged to book future appointments to help maintain a steady blood supply.
• Attendees of Monday’s blood drive and all Those who come to give August 1-28, 2025, will receive a $15 e-gift card to a merchant of choice.
• The Red Cross will also perform free A1C testing on successful blood, platelet and plasma donations made August 1-31, 2025 (one test result per donor in a 12-month period).

August is National Wellness Month – a time to prioritize personal health and wellness. During this month, the Red Cross is providing free A1C testing – a test commonly used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes – for all donors who make a successful blood, platelet or plasma donation and have not received an A1C test result with their donation in the last twelve months.

• According to survey results, while most donors knew what A1C testing was when the Red Cross last performed A1C testing in March, over half of donors were unaware of their own A1C levels.
• As a result of A1C tests performed on a successful blood, platelet and plasma donations, one in five donors received information regarding elevated A1C levels.
• Fasting in NOT required for the A1C test, which measures an individual’s average blood sugar level over the past three months. It’s always important to eat a nutritious meal before giving blood.
• Donors can expect to receive A1C test results from their first successful donation in August within 1-2 weeks through our Red Cross Blood Donor App or on our donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org.
• Learn more about diabetes and blood donation at RedCrossBlood.org/Diabetes.