Roll Up Your Sleeve for Kentucky Blood Drive
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 24, 2020) — With only one day left in this year’s Big Blue Slam blood drive competition, Florida has built its margin over Kentucky, leading the 12th annual event 991-898. Kentucky Blood Center saw 227 donors roll up their sleeves for the event on Thursday, while 281 Gator fans donated.
The competition runs through Friday, Jan. 24, at UK campus locations (see schedule below) and all Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) donor centers and blood drives. Big Blue Slam comes at a critical time for the nonprofit blood center as sickness and weather have caused blood drive cancelations and left the blood supply suffering.
As a thank you for saving a life, Kentucky donors will receive a throwback Big Blue Slam T-shirt
“We really want to encourage Kentucky fans to show our Wildcat spirit over the last two days of Big Blue Slam,” said Martha Osborne, vice president of marketing for KBC. “Our loyal donors know the impact their donations make on the communities we serve, and we would also love to see some Kentucky fans try blood donation for the first time as we close out Slam.”
UK students, faculty, staff and fans can donate at the following campus locations the rest of this week:
- Gatton Student Center: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Friday (Ballroom)
- UK Medical Center (Bloodmobile on Rose St.): 7 a.m.–3 p.m. Friday
- William T. Young Library: 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Friday
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. Monday through Friday during 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
Kentucky won the competition in 2019 and took a 6-5 lead in the series between KBC and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in Gainesville. Big Blue Slam was created to encourage blood donation during the winter months, when weather and illness can hamper collections.
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 I.D. 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 more than 50 years of saving lives in Kentucky, KBC 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. KBC provides services in 90 Kentucky counties and has donor centers in Lexington, Louisville, Pikeville and Somerset.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.