Drake University and LifeServe Blood Center hosted the first of a planned annual Bulldog Basketball Blood Drive at the Knapp Center on Feb. 11.
The drive transformed the front hallway of the Knapp Center into a blood donation center. A registration desk, screening tables to evaluate donation eligibility and eight blood draw stations packed the hallway. Donors could catch a break at a snack and water table before receiving a free “I Bleed Blue” T-shirt and a free ticket to a Drake Basketball game. Donors could also take a photo with Andrew Alia and Jaehshon Thomas of the Drake men’s basketball team and Grace Knutson of the Drake women’s basketball team, who attended the blood drive.
LifeServe Blood Center is a non-profit blood center that provides blood products to 175 hospitals primarily in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Illinois. There are five LifeServe Blood Center offices and seven hospitals that serve the Des Moines area.
Tim Paluch is the PR and Marketing Director for LifeServe Blood Center. He contacted the Drake Athletics Department to create a partnership that would open a new donor base of people who haven’t donated before or haven’t donated in years.
“I thought one [new donor base] on Drake could be going through the athletic department,” Paluch said, given that “Drake is considered the Des Moines home team for sports.”
As part of their collaboration, LifeServe sponsored the Feb. 5 women’s basketball game and Feb. 9 men’s basketball game.
The blood drive brought in people from inside and outside the Drake community. Megan Lilly works in administration for Drake’s School of Education. She heard about the blood drive through an on-campus newsletter and registered to donate.
“I like to give blood every time I can, so it was nice that [the blood drive is] close to work,” Lilly said.
Out of around 85 donation appointments scheduled, the blood drive gathered 74 units of blood, “which was a very successful drive,” Paluch said. The expected projection was 60 units, and Paluch said the blood drive “beat that pretty handily.”
The Drake and LifeServe Blood Center blood drive is the first of several future collaborations. Another blood drive is planned for the fall with Drake’s football team. LifeServe will also sponsor several games in upcoming seasons to promote blood drives.
“[Blood donation is] one of the rare acts that someone can make that doesn’t cost them a penny, just costs some time, and [you] leave knowing you probably saved someone’s life,” Paluch said.
