News and Events

University of Delaware finishes second overall in 6th CAA Blood Challenge

Newark, DE- Blood Bank of Delmarva and the University of Delaware worked together on November 14 to draw 678 blood donors in the 6th annual CAA Blood Challenge- a competition which pits the University of Delaware against eleven other schools in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Challenge requires each college or university to designate one day during the fall to conduct a campus-wide blood drive. The school with the most blood donations wins. UD finished second overall for the second year in a row.



Click Here for the Standalone Video File.



The other competing schools include:

- College of William and Mary
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- UNC Wilmington
- Georgia State University
- James Madison University
- Old Dominion University
- Hofstra University
- Drexel University
- George Mason University
- Towson University
- Northeastern University

Drexel University is the winner of the 2007 Challenge for the second year in a row with 942 donors drawn. The Blue Hens were CAA Champions from 2002 to 2005. Over the past six years, the CAA Blood Challenge has drawn a total of 14,096 units of blood, which has helped to save 42,288 lives.

Watch the heartwarming video of Andrew's dad- sharing his son's amazing story and personally thanking local students for donating blood.

Part 1

Part 2

The McDonough family has established The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, with its motto, "Be Positive." Among other things, it is dedicated to performing acts of kindness. "What better act of kindness is there than giving blood to help another person?" asks Joe McDonough.

For more information, visit www.LiveLikeAndrew.org.

Top executives from several local businesses received the new "Red Drop Partner" award for their strong Blood Bank membership support and for permitting their employees to give blood during work hours.

Downtown blood donations have plummeted 63% in past decade

Wilmington, DE- To address an alarming trend at the Blood Bank of Delmarva's underutilized donor center at 913 North Market Street in Wilmington, the organization kicked off a major public awareness campaign.

Watch VIDEO from the campaign launch- The News Journal

"We have seen blood donations at our downtown Wilmington Center plummet drastically," said Bob Travis, President and CEO of Blood Bank of Delmarva. "Since the late 1980s, the center consistently had about 8,000 blood donors a year. Now, we are only able to schedule about 3,000 donors a year. If we can't increase usage at that location, we may have to begin looking for another place to go."

The Wilmington Center first opened in 1984. For about 15 years, the center contributed more than 13% of the total blood supply on Delmarva. It is now only contributing 4%.

The public awareness campaign began Wednesday, October 31 with a "Paint the Town Red" event in front of 913 North Market Street, the location of the Blood Bank's Wilmington Center.

- Wilmington Mayor James Baker painted a red stripe down Market Street to recognize the importance of blood donations in the downtown community.
- Mayor Baker presented Blood Bank of Delmarva with a proclamation declaring October 31, 2007 "Paint the Town Red" Day.
- The William Penn High School marching band performed- representing the school that has consistently held the largest one-day blood drive on Delmarva.
- Top executives from several businesses received the new "Red Drop Partner" award for their strong membership support and for permitting their employees to give blood during work hours.
- Three City of Wilmington "VIPs" donated blood at the Wilmington Center (Bill Montgomery- Chief of Staff, Michael Szczerba- Police Chief, George Cunningham- Deputy Fire Chief).

"Paint the Town Red" Day also officially launched a 3-month promotion at the Wilmington Center, including extensive advertising, a public information program, and daily promotional giveaways for each blood donor.

For every day the Wilmington center is open, Tuesday through Friday until January 31, 2008, donors will receive a special gift as follows:

T-shirt Tuesday- limited edition t-shirt
Warm-up Wednesday- fleece blanket
Travel-mug Thursday- commemorative mug
Forget-your-lunch Friday- packed lunch by Bean Bag Cafe

Blood Bank of Delmarva has three other permanent donor centers (Newark and Dover, DE and Salisbury, MD) and 27 locations throughout Delmarva visited by the Bloodmobile. For more information on this promotion, click here.