UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE HOSTS THE BIGGEST ONE-DAY BLOOD DRIVE ON DELMARVA
900 blood donors expected at 8th annual CAA Blood Challenge November 18
Newark, DE - With a goal of 900 blood donors in one day, the University of Delaware is hoping to land its fifth win in the 8th Annual CAA Blood Challenge on Wednesday, November 18 from 7:30am to 8:00pm. UD will hold the all-day blood drive in the Trabant University Center's multipurpose rooms at 17 West Main Street in Newark.
The Challenge, which pits the University of Delaware against eleven other schools in the Colonial Athletic Association, requires each college or university to pick one day during the fall to conduct a campus-wide blood drive. The school with the most blood donations wins. Last year, UD brought in 604 blood donations.
"This competition is fun, but beyond that, it's a sight to see. Hundreds of students pour into the Trabant Center for more than 12 hours to give of themselves and save lives. It's truly inspiring," said Robert L. Travis, Blood Bank president and CEO.
All Blood Bank of Delmarva donor centers are closed during the CAA Blood Challenge and most employees work at the event in some capacity.
The competition was initiated in 2002 by the University of Delaware. UD won the first four years of the Challenge but was narrowly defeated by Drexel University for the last three. The other competing schools include: College of William and Mary, Hofstra University, Drexel University, George Mason University, Towson University, Northeastern University, Georgia State University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, UNC Wilmington, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Over the past seven years, the CAA Blood Challenge has raised a total of 17,728 units of blood for the schools' local communities.
