The sun shone overhead Saturday as more than 20 Muncie BioLife Plasma Services staff members gathered at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new building.
In late October, BioLife will open a new donation center behind Best Buy, moving from its current location on Madison Street on the south side of Muncie.
Janet Spaulding, regional operations manager for BioLife, said the impending move is a momentous occasion for the Muncie donation center.
"For us, it's incredible," she said. "The location we're in is very small now and it limits our ability to collect donations."
In an effort to increase community and student donors, Tom Locke, Muncie BioLife center manager said during June new donors will receive $40 for their first donation and $60 for their second donation in a week. After that, the price will go to the regular prices of $20 and $40 per week.
The Muncie BioLife staff has been trying to change locations for three years, Spaulding said. The new location will accommodate 2,500 donors per week, doubling the number of donors the Southside location can facilitate, she said.
The new location will also have 75 additional parking spaces for donors, Spaulding said.
Nicci Trent, phlebotomist at BioLife, said she thinks the new location will improve the donor experience.
"There's going to be lots of space so it will be easier to get the donors in and out fast," she said.
In addition to expanding the current facilities, Dylan Haney, regional marketing representative for BioLife, said increased visibility was crucial in the new building's site.
"We're hoping to become more community-oriented and have more strategic marketing in Muncie," he said.
However, BioLife is not only focusing on the community donors. BioLife center manager Tom Locke said the new location behind Best Buy will be convenient for students.
"Most of the students stay here in this area, they don't go to the Southside," he said.
Spaulding said in the summer, students make up approximately 35 percent of BioLife plasma donors and in the fall and spring they make up 65 percent of the donors.
"That's the amazing thing about BioLife: college kids can make such a difference," she said. "Whether they're coming in for grocery money or rent, they can make a huge difference."
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