The nation’s largest blood donation competition opens Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where Abbott Laboratories and the Big Ten Conference are staging a free blood drive and community event that doubles as the national kickoff of the “We Give Blood” drive.
The drive runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Court of Champions and is open to everyone in the Pasadena area. Walk-ins are encouraged, and first-time donors are welcome. A meet and greet with influencers Josh and Jase is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m.
Every person who donates or attempts to donate at the stadium receives an exclusive, limited-edition “We Give Blood” T-shirt and a private VIP tour of the Rose Bowl.
The returning competition unites all 18 Big Ten universities, and Pasadena and Altadena residents who give blood at any U.S. donation center can log their donation as supporting UCLA — the Big Ten school that has played its home football games at the Rose Bowl since 1982. Each logged donation scores a point for the donor’s school, and the winning school receives $1 million from Abbott to support student or community health.
Donors do not have to give at the stadium to have their donation counted. In Pasadena, Huntington Hospital’s Blood Donor Center at 711 S. Fairmount Ave. is open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Validated parking is available in the East Parking structure across the street. The center can be reached at (626) 397-5422, and information is posted at https://www.
The drive arrives during a serious national blood shortage, with some blood centers holding less than a one-day supply on hand. California blood centers are reporting dangerously low inventories, according to Abbott, the Big Ten’s health sciences and diagnostics partner.
The competition also comes a month after the American Red Cross declared a national blood supply crisis — only the second in its history — after donations fell to a four-year summer low.
“The future of America’s blood supply starts on college campuses,” said Robert B. Ford, Abbott’s chairman and chief executive officer.
Blood donation typically takes an hour in total, including just 10 minutes of actively donating, and a single donation can help save up to three lives.
The “We Give Blood” drive opens Wednesday, Aug. 26, and runs through Friday, Dec. 4. The winning school will be announced Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Big Ten football championship game in Indianapolis.
Anyone in the United States over 18 who meets donor eligibility requirements can take part. Donations made anywhere in the country count, Abbott said. To log a donation, donors take a photo at the donation site or save an email confirmation, then submit it. Donors who log a donation can claim a school-specific T-shirt, one per person, while supplies last.
Abbott and the Big Ten are pointing donors to: https://bigten.org/abbott/
Donations can be logged at https://bigten.org/abbott, or by texting GIVEBLOOD to 222688.
Abbott Laboratories is a large U.S.-based global health care company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois. It is not solely a pharmaceutical company; its main businesses are medical devices, diagnostic testing, nutrition products and branded generic medicines.
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