Illinois won the Homecoming weekend football game, but the Illini have more than just one win to celebrate. 

Abbott, a healthcare technology company, and the Big Ten Conference held a successful homecoming week blood drive in collaboration with the American Red Cross for the annual “We Give Blood” contest.

All 18 Big Ten universities are competing for $1 million in funding for student and community health from Abbott. The award goes to the school with the most blood donations by the end of the fall football season. 

The University’s homecoming blood drive saw many students, staff, faculty and alumni donating to maintain the school’s 6th-place leaderboard position. 

The “We Give Blood” initiative was started to increase blood donations as the U.S. navigates blood shortages across the nation. 

“The competition was really designed to tap into the love and competitiveness of college football to motivate students, fans and alumni to become lifelong blood donors,” said Deanna Cardone, U.S. marketing director for Abbott. 

Cardone needed blood six years ago after giving birth to twin boys and remains passionate about the cause. 

“Having a selfless blood donor can make such an impact on someone’s life,” Cardone said.

The Abbott and Big Ten “We Give Blood” competition increased blood donations from young people across college campuses. 

“We have traditionally seen smaller drives on campus — that has exponentially grown since this has launched,” said Megan Davis, district manager for donor recruitment for the American Red Cross.

The University alone has made over 1,800 donations, saving over 5,500 lives. 

“Blood is needed every two seconds, whether it’s accident victims, people undergoing surgeries or cancer patients,” Cardone said. “One blood donation can save up to three lives.”

Donations from young people between the ages of 19 and 24 have dropped nearly a third in recent years, while older blood donors are aging out of the donation bracket. 

The drop in donations from younger generations is attributed to canceled high school blood drives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of Gen Z now that would have been a part of those blood drives in high school just didn’t get the awareness that, historically, the older generations have gotten,” said Caitlin Hudspeath, senior manager for external communications at Abbott. 

Hudspeath has also been impacted by blood donations that saved the lives of her friends and family, including her sister and nephew.

“You don’t think about it when you’re donating until it happens to somebody that you know; those blood transfusions saved their lives,” Hudspeath said. “They wouldn’t be here with us today without them.”

Donors can register for any blood drive near them and contribute to the “We Give Blood” drive. 

“This is just a great way to get our message across and hopefully inspire some new donors to come in and pull up their sleeves and donate blood,” Davis said.

Blood donation is close to Davis’ heart, as her father received multiple life-saving transfusions over the summer after a leukemia diagnosis. 

The blood drawing process only takes 10 to 15 minutes, but Abbott, Big Ten and the American Red Cross ensure the wellbeing of donors by completing a mini physical beforehand. 

Snacks and water are provided, along with the opportunity to win a vintage-style Illinois homefield t-shirt with each donation. 

“It means the world because we’re living our values, trying to help the community, trying to impact lives, and this is absolutely a true representation of who we are as people who work and go to school here,” said Danita M. Brown Young, vice chancellor for Student Affairs. 

Young has consistently supported the University’s effort to participate in the Abbott and Big Ten competitions. She has also been impacted by donors — her father received multiple transfusions. 

“It absolutely saved his life so many times when his hemoglobin has gotten low, and luckily he was able to receive blood from people who have donated,” Brown Young said.

The “We Give Blood” drive is introducing donations to young people and turning them into lifelong donors.

“That’s the goal of this campaign: to get the young generation to come back and keep donating,” said Lauren Koot, junior in business and student ambassador for “We Give Blood.” 

Donors can give blood every eight weeks, and each donation counts towards the University’s position on the leaderboard. 

“I’m so proud,” Young said. “I want every bed to be full of blood donations, not just today but continuing out, even after the competition. I want people to get in the habit of giving blood.”

The winner of the contest will be announced on Dec. 6 at the Discover Big Ten Championship Game. 

“I really hope we can continue to climb up that leaderboard to get that million-dollar grant from Abbott,” Cardone said. 

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