ROCKFORD, Ill. (WREX) — To help combat the ongoing blood shortage, the Rock River Valley Blood Center partnered with Lyfe Dispensary for the new Bleed For Weed event Wednesday.
This event allowed people who donated blood to receive free marijuana in exchange for the donation.
Bleed For Weed drew dozens of people, with more than 75 appointments booked in advance and many more standing in lines for hours.
This event was inspired by a similar event organizers saw in California, leading them to try something new here with the blood supply at an extremely low level.
“The blood center actually reached out to us. They were obviously in kind of critical status as far as getting blood. They were reaching out to just try to come up with some unique ideas,” Reed Sjostrom, a managing partner for the dispensary said.
With extra blood also needed in the summers due to a rise in accidents but drop in donations along with a low supply, the blood center said trying something new felt like the right move to get donors.
“We’ve never done one before,