MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Get ready to roll up your sleeves and ramp up a long-standing rivalry for the annual “Bleed Blue to Beat WKU” blood drive between Middle Tennessee State University and Western Kentucky University, set for Oct. 27-29 — with a special push on helping patients with sickle cell disease.

The three-day blood drive will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Oct. 27-29, at MTSU’s Campus Recreation Center, 1848 Blue Raider Drive. Whichever university garners the most donations wins the coveted challenge trophy to display. But in the end, everyone is a winner in this competition.

“Because this is a competition between MTSU and WKU, we have the ability to collect roughly 800 to 900 units of blood, which can save several thousand lives,” said Gene Baker, senior account manager of Donor Services for the American Red Cross of Tennessee. “This is a very important blood drive because we can cover a lot of hospital commitments in one large event.”

Off-campus donors can park for free in visitor parking spots at MT One Stop, 1860 Blue Raider Drive, next to Campus Rec. A searchable campus parking map is available at https://bit.ly/ParkingMapMTSU2025.

Sign up urged, walk-ins welcome, volunteers needed

While walk-ins are welcome, donors are encouraged to sign up for the event online. Another way to sign up is by downloading the Blood Donor App and using the sponsor code MTSU. There are also specific height and weight requirements that vary between male and female donors. Visit tinyurl.com/2025DonateBlood to learn more.

Incentives for donating include a commemorative T-shirt, a $10 eGift Card to a merchant of choice, and a chance to win one of three $500 gift cards, plus free pizza and MTSU football tickets.

In addition to donors, volunteers are needed to work the blood drive. Visit bit.ly/2025BloodBattlevolunteers to sign up to help.

Drive’s impact ‘incredible’

Previously, the blood drive was held the same week as the yearly football rivalry between MTSU and WKU. But that game won’t be until the middle of November.

“We didn’t want to wait that long. So we moved the blood drive up two weeks prior to the game to accommodate the competition and continue to collect donations, as the need is so great this time of year,” Baker said.

Each unit of blood can fulfill multiple purposes. The Red Cross reports that up to three patients can use the components from one unit of blood.

In 2024, MTSU collected 405 units during the three-day effort, 36 more than WKU, which collected 369 units. Together, the Conference USA schools collected 774 units of lifesaving blood.

A total of 6,956 units of blood have been collected at MTSU blood drives since 2010, which could potentially save 20,799 neighbors’ lives across Middle Tennessee. MTSU and WKU together have collected 12,881 units of blood since the competition began in 2010, potentially saving approximately 38,000 lives.

“It’s really incredible how impactful this competition is,” Baker said.

Supporting sickle cell sufferers

This year’s MTSU blood drive is also focusing on helping patients with sickle cell disease, Baker said.

“We all have different markers in our blood called antigens and that’s very important when treating certain diseases like sickle cell,” Baker said. “Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease in the U.S., affecting about 100,000 people — primarily Black or African American people.”

Black donors’ blood is often the best match for sickle cell patients because it’s less likely to cause immune reactions. To learn more about sickle cell and the lifesaving role of blood donors, visit redcross.org.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu