Putting the long-standing Tobacco Road rivalry to good use, the Duke Red Cross Club and a coalition of student leaders from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have united to coordinate a blood drive competition between the two schools. Every pint donated by students between early January and the March 4 Duke-UNC basketball game is being tallied in the "Battle of the Blood"-the blood drive face-off between the long-time rivals.
Duke is ahead so far, with 81 pints as to UNC's 52.
"I'm planning on this becoming a 15-year tradition, at least," said Trinity junior Matthew Baugh, co-president of the Duke Red Cross Club.
Earlier this winter, the Carolinas Blood Services Region issued an emergency appeal for blood donors, urging people replenish the local blood supply that had been depleted by the severe flu season and the lull in donations during the holiday season. In response, Duke and UNC have revived an old ACC tradition to fill the need in the area.
"Every year, hospitals in the Durham region use more than 100,000 pints of blood," explained Kirsten Kruhm, director of blood services for the North Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross. With each school aiming to collect at least 800 pints during the 50-day period, the competition can make a significant impact on the local community.
"Raising the general awareness and realizing the need for donors is a part of what makes this a win-win situation," Kruhm said.
Students have planned extensively for this event, working out all the details of recruiting donors, placing advertising and gaining sponsorships.
During halftime of the March 4 game in Cameron, a leading member of the National Red Cross Organization will present a trophy to the school that gathers the most blood. Each year, the trophy will be engraved with the name of the winning school.
Although the Tar Heels are losing, they present a ready challenge, said UNC senior Lindsey Ligett, chair of the public service committee of the executive branch of UNC's student government.
"Because the rivalry between the two schools is so strong, we feel that people will be motivated to donate blood because of the opportunity to beat Duke," she said.
In addition to signs similar to the large scoreboard at Duke's West Campus bus stop, UNC will be airing radio public service announcements during broadcasts of Carolina games.
And student leaders say the publicity seems to be working. "Last week, we held what is normally one of our smaller drives of the year, and we exceeded our goal by 30 percent despite poor weather conditions," Ligett said.
Blood drives will be held across the Duke campus during the next few months, including one today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the law school and a primary drive in the Bryan Center from Feb. 1 through 3. The collection site in Hospital South will continue to be open for donations every Tuesday and Thursday.
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