Kentucky carries lead into final day of Big Blue Crush blood drive

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — Kentucky is carrying the lead into the final day of the annual Big Blue Crush blood drive that pits the Commonwealth against Tennessee.

On day four, which was Thursday, Kentucky was leading the Volunteer State by 1,719 to 1,622 donors.

Today is the final day to donate.

“Big Blue Nation, the ball is in our hands,” said Mandy Brajuha, vice president of external relations at KBC. “With a big day on Friday, we can close this competition with a win, but we need donors to step up. We know Tennessee is in store for its biggest day yet, and the score is too close to assume your donation won’t make a difference. It will matter not only for this all-important competition but most importantly for saving local lives during a critical time of the year.”

Kentuckians had increased their single-day turnout over the first three days, however, numbers dipped a bit on Thursday with 430 donors contributing to the Kentucky Blood Center side. It was still enough to inch a little closer to Tennessee with 399 donating on day four.

There’s still plenty of time to donate.

You can head to the following today:

• All eight KBC donor centers (Lexington, Louisville, Corbin, Frankfort, Pikeville and Somerset) will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• University of Kentucky students, staff and faculty can donate on campus at Buell Armory (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or Lewis Honors College (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Public drives will also be in Knox County (First United Methodist Church from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.), Mercer County (Mercer County High School from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Morgan County (Morgan County High School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

Appointments can be set at kybloodcenter.org/events/big-blue-crush-2023 or by calling 800-775-2522.

Donors must be at least 17 (or 16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health.