Blood drive supports patients, research at Ohio State
The Buckeyes have won the annual Blood Battle the past 3 years
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The Ohio State University |
There is a lot more than bragging rights on the line with the 44th annual Blood Battle. Critical blood donations support the medical needs of more than 9,300 patients at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and future research into treating blood disorders.
According to Dr. Sarah Wall, a hematologist and director of clinical operations for the transplant and cell therapy program at the Wexner Medical Center, blood and blood products are critical for her patients.
“When I’m on my daily rounds with my oncology patients, I may be ordering 10 units of blood every day and if the supply isn’t there, that puts their lives in jeopardy,” Wall said. “The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is also a level 1 trauma center and must have ample blood supply available on short notice.”
The annual Blood Battle between Ohio State and the University of Michigan runs through Nov. 26. The long-standing tradition, which started in 1982, is a competition between the two schools to see which can collect the most blood. Ohio State has won the past three years.
Versiti Blood Center of Ohio, along with the Buckeye Blood Club at Ohio State, hopes to collect a minimum of 1,500 units of blood that will be available for patients at the medical center, including the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC — James).
The competition and collaboration from both universities collected around 3,100 pints of blood in 2024.
This year, there is an additional incentive: Ohio State is also competing in the Abbott and Big Ten We Give Blood Drive, a nationwide challenge among all 18 Big Ten schools to fight the critical blood shortage and recruit younger donors.
This year, everyone who donates blood at one of the Blood Battle events can double their impact by also registering their donation by texting “DONATE” to 222688 (ABBOTT) or visiting BigTen.Org/Abbott.
If Ohio State wins the Big Ten challenge, university President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. has pledged the $1 million prize to go to life-saving research. That means donations can save lives today at the medical center and will help save lives in the future through the leading-edge and groundbreaking medical research conducted at Ohio State.
For information about where to donate, visit Versiti’s website: https://versiti.org/ways-to-give/annual-blood-drives/ohio-state-vs-michigan-blood-battle
