Campus News

Campus Blood Donors Take on Gators in Big Blue Slam

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan 21, 2016)  Campus blood donors can bleed blue during the eighth annual Big Blue Slam, Jan. 25-29. Big Blue Slam is the blood drive competition between Kentucky and Florida.

Besides saving lives during Big Blue Slam, blood donors can also help DanceBlue at the same time. Kentucky Blood Center will make a $5 donation to DanceBlue for those blood donors who mention it at any of the Big Blue Slam campus drives.

Donors will receive a Slam T-shirt, a chance to win one of four Fitbit wireless wristbands and be entered to win a pair of tickets to the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball South Regional in Louisville March 24 and 26.

The campus blood drives are listed below:

Singletary Center for the Arts

Monday - Thursday

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

The 90, Room 219

Monday, noon - 6 p.m.

Friday, noon - 6 p.m.

Baptist Christian Ministries

Wednesday, 4 - 8 p.m.

W.T. Young Library

Tuesday, 1 - 6 p.m.

Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Johnson Center

Thursday, 1 - 6:30 p.m.

Kentucky and Florida meet on the court Feb. 6 in Rupp Arena and March 1 in Florida. KBC leads the competition against LifeSouth Community Blood Center in Gainesville four to three.

To schedule a donation, visit kybloodcenter.org or call 800-775-2522. Walk-ins are also welcome.

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, which can be found at kybloodcenter.org.

KBC, founded nearly 50 years ago, 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.

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.

For more information, contact KBC Marketing and Communications Manager Denise Fields at dfields@kybloodcenter.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett or Rebecca Stratton, katy.bennett@uky.edu or rebecca.stratton@uky.edu, (859) 257-1909/(859) 323-2395