Kentucky-Tennessee Blood Battle Set to Begin
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s time for Kentucky football fans to prove they bleed blue. Kentucky Blood Center’s 23rd annual Big Blue Crush – a blood battle between Kentucky and Tennessee football fans – will be Nov. 15-19.
All donors will receive a Big Blue Crush T-shirt and a coupon good for a free McDonald’s menu item.
In addition, everyone who registers to donate blood Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday will be eligible to win some great prizes. Monday and Tuesday donors will be automatically entered to win an iPad. Four lucky Wednesday donors will receive $50 Wildcat Wearhouse gift cards. Everyone who registers to donate on UK campus will also be eligible to win an iPad.
Tennessee leads the blood drive rivalry 12 to 9 with 1 tie and has won the past seven years. In hopes of taking back the trophy this year, though, Kentucky Blood Center has set a goal of 4,000 donors.
“Besides being a friendly rivalry and a fun promotion, Big Blue Crush ensures us of enough blood products to get us through the holiday season,” said KBC President and CEO Bill Reed. “Our donors always come out and support Crush, but this year we really want to win this thing and invite our dedicated donors to bring a friend or two with them to donate.”
During Crush, all KBC donor centers will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. KBC centers are located in Lexington’s Beaumont Center and Andover Shoppes, Somerset and Pikeville. There will also be other convenient donation locations scheduled throughout the area that week. To schedule a donation or to find a donation location, donors can visit kybloodcenter.org or call 800.775.2522.
About Kentucky Blood Center
Kentucky Blood Center, the largest FDA licensed blood bank headquartered in Kentucky, is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a safe, adequate blood supply for patients at nearly 70 Kentucky hospitals and clinics in more than 60 counties. KBC relies on volunteers to collect 400 pints of blood per day to meet area patients’ needs. Over the last year KBC distributed nearly 130,000 blood components.