With a last-day surge on Nov. 18, Penn State slipped past Michigan State in the annual Blood Donor Challenge held between the two schools. During the day, Penn state collected 312 units of blood to Michigan State’s 214, bringing the final tally for the three-week challenge to 2,019 to 2,008 in favor of Penn State. Penn State has won the annual competition for five years straight, and has won 12 times since the series began 17 years ago.
“We love to win the challenge, but the real reason we do this is to help the Red Cross keep supplies up before the holidays,” said Penn State student Red Cross Club president, Rino Sato. “Between both schools, we added 4,027 pints of blood to the Red Cross inventory.”
The need for blood is constant, but during the busy holiday season the number of blood donors typically decreases. The goal of the challenge is to help maintain blood supplies in both communities during the holidays.
Every two seconds someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion. Some patients rely on regular blood transfusions for survival. Blood donors can safely donate whole blood once every 56 days. If you are an eligible blood donor, don’t forget to donate in the coming month. For information on future blood drives and to schedule an appointment, visit http://www.redcrosslife.org/ online.
