28th Annual Big Blue Crush All This Week: Nov. 16-20
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 16, 2015) — Get ready to bleed blue, Kentucky fans. The annual Big Blue Crush, the yearly blood battle between Kentucky Blood Center and Medic Regional Blood Center in Knoxville, opens today and continues through Friday, Nov. 20.
This is the 28th edition of the friendly competition which pits fans of the Cats and the Tennessee Volunteers to see who can donate the most blood the week before Thanksgiving. The real winners, however, are the Kentucky and Tennessee patients who require blood transfusions every day.
“Kentuckians generously bleeding blue during Crush week will support Kentucky patients through the holidays,” said Martha Osborne, executive director of marketing and recruitment for Kentucky Blood Center (KBC). “And, of course, we want to beat the Vols again this year.”
Kentucky leads the competition 14 to 12 with one tie and has won the competition the last five years.
Donors will receive a Big Blue Crush T-shirt and a chance to win tickets to the Kentucky-Louisville football game on Nov. 28. To help get the week started off strong, those who give Monday and Tuesday will also be eligible to win a $100 VISA gift card each day.
Blood donors must be 17 years old (16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health, show a photo I.D. and meet additional requirements. Sixteen-year-old donors must have a signed parental permission slip. The form can be obtained at www.kybloodcenter.org.
KBC’s five donor centers will be open special hours – 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. – during Crush week. There will also be daily mobile blood drives throughout the region. Donor centers are listed below, and blood drive locations also can be found at www.kybloodcenter.org
Lexington - Beaumont Donor Center
3121 Beaumont Centre Circle
Lexington – Andover Donor Center
3130 Maple Leaf Drive
Louisville – Middletown Donor Center
12905 Shelbyville Road
Pikeville Donor Center
472 S. Mayo Drive
Somerset Donor Center
10 Stonegate Centre (Stoplight 16-A)
About Kentucky Blood Center
KBC, founded in 1968, is the largest independent, full-service, nonprofit blood center in Kentucky. Licensed by the FDA, KBC’s sole purpose is to collect, process and distribute blood for patients in Kentucky hospitals.
Every two seconds someone needs blood. It could be a premature infant struggling for life, a firefighter suffering from burns, a neighbor undergoing chemotherapy treatment for leukemia, a truck driver injured in an auto accident or a young student with a congenital blood disorder. It’s for those patients and more that KBC exists.
All blood that is donated with KBC is returned to the Beaumont Donor Center where it is processed, prepared and stored for shipment to Kentucky hospitals.
Blood needs are ongoing. Red cells last only 42 days and must be continually replenished to adequately support Kentucky hospitals. Statistics show that one in seven hospital patients will require blood transfusions during their stay. However, only 37 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood and less than 10 percent does. All blood types are needed, and there is a particular need for type O negative blood since it is the “universal donor” and needed in emergencies when the patient’s blood type is unknown.
The blood already on the shelf is the blood used in an emergency. That’s why KBC is always encouraging people to donate blood.
MEDIA CONTACT: Denise Fields, 859-519-3721; 859-333-2022.