Blood Community Joins Abbott, Big Ten Conference to Kick Off Nationwide Blood Drive

AABB leaders, alongside representatives from the American Red Cross and Blood Centers of America, joined leaders from Abbott and the Big Ten Conference at the New York Stock Exchange today to launch the second year of the “We Give Blood” drive.

With the support of the blood community, the nationwide campaign is designed to encourage more young people to donate blood and foster the next generation of lifelong blood donors. The campaign challenges all 18 Big Ten universities to inspire the most blood donations from students, alumni and fans between Aug. 27 and Dec. 5. The winning school will receive $1 million from Abbott, an AABB corporate partner, to support student or community health initiatives.

Through the campaign, Abbott and the Big 10 Conference aim to build on last year’s inaugural competition, when the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recorded nearly 4,000 donors. This year’s campaign adds weekly “One-Up Challenges” between Big Ten schools to create more opportunities for first-time and repeat donors.