Why Big Ten football needs your blood this season
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The Big Ten Conference is out for blood this college football season.
The big picture: A blood donation competition that blends school spirit with saving lives aims to address a generational shortage that has left the majority of community blood centers in the Midwest, including Indiana, with a supply of less than three days.
Driving the news: The Big Ten and Abbott Laboratories kicked off the second annual "We Give Blood" drive last week with some help from NFL and Purdue University legend Drew Brees.
How it works: The school that drives the most donations during the 2025 football season will receive a $1 million donation from Abbott to advance student or community health.
- Students, alumni and fans can donate blood on behalf of any of the 18 member schools at blood centers across the country.
- The winning university will be announced during the Big Ten football championship game on Dec. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Zoom in: Nick Brown, Versiti Indiana's senior director of donor services, told Axios that 30% of the blood the center collects comes from high schools and universities, meaning drives like this are critical for refilling reserves that take a beating each summer.
State of play: According to America's Blood Centers, the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day is known as the "100 Deadly Days of Summer," marking a higher rate of accidents and traumas that coincides with a spike in outdoor activity.
- Blood centers typically see a 20% drop in donations during summer as regular donors break their giving schedules and school-based drives press pause.
- At the same time, trauma centers experience an uptick in patients needing immediate blood products.
Yes, but: Brown said the need for blood is year round, and every season has factors that can quickly put a strain on already low supply.
- He adds that Indiana has a rapidly aging donor base that can only give so often, making the push for donors even more important.
What he's saying: "Only 3% of the people who are eligible to give blood actually donate. But because of that, even a 1% or 2% increase would be significant, and would probably get us close to where we need to be," he said.
Zoom out: The nation's decline in donors over the past two decades accelerated post-COVID and still hasn't recovered, prompting organizations like Versiti and the American Red Cross to issue "emergency blood shortage" warnings several times per year.
- According to the Red Cross, the pandemic caused the number of people giving blood to fall by more than 300,000 over the past five years, going from about 2.5 million nationwide donors in 2019 to 2.2 million in 2024.
Threat level: The consequences of inadequate blood products includes doctors foregoing serious procedures and postponing elective surgeries.
Caveat: Not everyone is a good candidate for blood donation. Consult with your doctor if you're unsure about your eligibility.