Kentucky Leads Florida Entering Final Day of Blood Drive
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 18, 2019) — The Wildcats remained ahead of the Gators after the fourth day of Big Blue Slam and are leading the 11th annual blood drive competition by 85 pints, 1247 to 1162.
Big Blue Slam is the annual blood battle between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Florida to see which fans can donate the most blood. The competition goes through today (Friday, Jan. 18), and is at all Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) donor centers and blood drives.
Kentucky and Florida are tied with five wins apiece in this yearly challenge between KBC and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in Gainesville. Big Blue Slam helps to encourage blood donors when winter weather and flu season can hamper donations.
“Even though Big Blue Nation is in the lead, we really need Wildcat fans to roll up their sleeves and help us save lives by donating on this last day,” said Martha Osborne, Kentucky Blood Center’s vice president of marketing.
As a thank you for saving a life, Kentucky donors will receive a long-sleeve Big Blue Slam T-shirt.
Donors may give at any KBC mobile blood drive or donor center. KBC donor centers, which will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Slam week, are listed below:
Andover Donor Center
3130 Maple Leaf Drive, Lexington
Beaumont Donor Center
3121 Beaumont Centre Circle, Lexington
Hillview Donor Center
5406 Antle Drive, Louisville
Middletown Donor Center
12905 Shelbyville Road, Louisville
Pikeville Donor Center
472 S. Mayo Trail, Pikeville
Somerset Donor Center
10 Stonegate Centre (Stoplight 16A), Somerset
Blood donors must be at least 17-years-old (16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health, show a photo ID and meet additional requirements. Sixteen-year-old donors must have a signed parental permission slip, which can be found at http://kybloodcenter.org.
Walk-ins are welcome. To schedule a donation or find other donation locations, visit http://kybloodcenter.org or call 800-775-2522.
Celebrating 50 years of saving lives in Kentucky, KBC is the largest independent, full-service, nonprofit blood center in Kentucky. Licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, KBC’s sole purpose is to collect, process and distribute blood for patients in Kentucky. KBC provides services in 90 Kentucky counties and has donor centers in Lexington, Louisville, Pikeville and Somerset.