Stanford Unites to Beat Cal On and Off the Field; Blood Center to Hold 4th Annual “Rivals for Life” Drive

November 12, 2010
Attention News Desk: Press Release (for immediate release)
MEDIA CONTACT:
Deanna Bolio (650) 725-3804
dbolio@stanford.edu

STANFORD, Calif. — Each fall as the football teams from Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley prepare to face off on the gridiron, the schools’ respective blood banks hold a competition of their own. Stanford’s side of the “Rivals For Life” blood drive will take place at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation on Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and is hosted by the BeWell employee wellness program.

Cal, in conjunction with American Red Cross and the UC-San Francisco Blood Bank, will hold its blood drive on Nov. 18.

“The ‘Rivals For Life’ drive is a great opportunity for the Stanford community to come together for a cause,” said blood center spokesperson Deanna Bolio. “Participants can show school spirit and earn bragging rights while also providing life-saving blood to patients at local hospitals.”

Each donor will receive a commemorative T-shirt and be entered into a prize drawing for the chance to win a football signed by San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary.

Once both blood drives are complete, the blood centers will tally the donations and a winner will be declared. Stanford currently leads the series 2-1, with wins in each of the last two years. In 2009, Stanford won the close competition by just nine units of blood.

“I think this blood drive says a lot about the team spirit at Stanford,” said Elisa Manzanares, blood center account manager. “Our student body is about a third of the size of Cal’s, but we’ve won the competition the last two years. We get so much support from students, staff, and faculty.”

Donors should be in good health with no cold or flu symptoms. They must eat well prior to donation, drink fluids and present photo identification at the time of donation. The process takes about an hour.

For more information or to schedule an appointment online, please call (888) 723-7831 or visit smstaging.stanford.edu/bloodcenter.

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The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation’s top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.