Members of the SU community will have the opportunity to make an impact by donating blood on Wednesday, Feb. 13, leading up to the men’s basketball showdown between SU and UConn, which will be featured on the big screen in Goldstein Auditorium.
Individuals can donate blood as part of the American Red Cross “Are you up for the Challenge?: Give Blood” campaign from 2-9 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. For the fourth year in a row, students, faculty and staff at Syracuse University and the University of Connecticut will compete in the annual SU vs. UConn Blood Battle, sponsored by the American Red Cross and the Division of Student Affairs. While the battle officially takes place in April, participants are encouraged to give blood and pre-register at the Feb. 13 kick-off event. To schedule an appointment to donate blood on Feb. 13, call 1-800-REDCROSS or visit www.redcrossblood.org/. More information can also be found on Facebook at Syracuse University Blood Drives or on twitter at @SUBloodDrives.
Students are encouraged to come out and cheer on the Orange as they take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. The game will be shown on the big screen and there will be chances to win prizes, as well as free snacks.
Blood donation is not the only way to support this effort, as not everyone is eligible or able to donate blood. If you are interested in volunteering, in lieu of donating blood, contact the Red Cross at 315-233-6046. Syracuse University values blood donation as a means to support and save lives, though we urge the FDA to end the blood ban on men who have sex with men, known as the MSM blood ban. To learn more about the ban, to go: www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/bloodbloodproducts/questionsaboutblood/ucm108186.htm. To learn more about current policy news and reports: www.gmhc.org/advocate/msm-blood-ban
The SU vs. UConn Blood Battle was initiated by the Connecticut and New York-Penn American Red Cross offices in 2009-10 in an effort to increase blood donations at college campuses. The winner in the battle will be determined by the ratio of enrollment to participation. UConn won the challenge in 2010; SU won in 2011; UConn won again in 2012. Blood donations from SU students, faculty and staff, as well as the number of donation drives on campus, have increased over the past six years. Each pint of blood can help save three lives; and in all, SU blood drives have helped to save more than 100,000 lives since the SU-Red Cross partnership began more than 40 years ago.
By giving blood at the Schine Center during the SU-UConn game Feb. 13, participants will automatically be pre-registered for the mega drives in April. Only the pints collected during the April Blood Battle count in the competition.
For more information about the February or April SU vs. UConn Blood Battles, contact Bridget Yule, director of Student Centers and Programming Services, at 443-9142 or bmyule@syr.edu.
