On Nov. 4 and 5, UC Davis won BloodSource’s seventh annual Causeway Classic Blood Drive in a friendly competition with Sacramento State. UC Davis has now won the blood drive for the fourth time since its first occurrence in 2008.
The blood drive is a competition between UC Davis and Sacramento State in terms of numbers of participants. UC Davis won the competition by a mere 11 donors. UC Davis had a total of 1,653 participants, 43 of whom donated at a different donation center during the competition time frame. Sacramento State had 1,642 participants, 25 of whom donated at an alternative center. Both campuses drew impressive turnouts, as 3,295 students donated blood in total.
Felicia Roper, the account manager for BloodSource, managed the event for the UC Davis campus and released the final results. She said that this was the closest margin of victory for either campus during the competition’s history and that UC Davis now leads Sacramento State 4-3.
According to Alexander Sigua, public relations manager for BloodSource, having the blood drive be a competition increases donor turnout.
Sigua said that the Causeway Classic Blood Drive not only encourages friendly competition between UC Davis and Sacramento State but also evokes awareness for the importance of donating blood and will affect many who seek blood transfusions in the Sacramento and Davis areas.
“Thanks to the generosity of blood donors, the Causeway Classic Blood Drive makes a tremendous impact in our community,” Sigua said. “For example, blood collected at UC Davis can directly help patients at UC Davis Medical Center.”
Roper also stressed the importance of donating blood and BloodSource’s appreciation for the overwhelming amount of participation.
“Because of this friendly, but spirited, competition between neighboring rivals, 3,295 total participants represented both schools and thousands of life saving pints of blood and products were collected,” Roper said.
Next year’s competition will take place from Nov. 3-4. BloodSource will also be holding another blood drive on the UC Davis campus this January.
“This year alone ,thousands of lives will be touched thanks to the great folks on both campuses,” Roper said.
