Friendly competition fuels blood drive success in Plano

Plano, Texas - The City of Plano recently hosted a blood drive that coincided with a friendly competition known as ‘The Battle of the Badges.’

This initiative sought to engage the Plano community not only in the act of donating blood but also in deciding the winner of a friendly contest between two of the city's key public service departments, the Plano Police Department and the Plano Fire Department.

This contest took place on July 13, resulting in the Plano Fire Department's victory, their first since a long-standing winning drought dating back to 2006. The announcement of their win was communicated via Facebook, with the final vote count reaching a total of 433.

With a significant majority of 296 votes, the Fire Department outpaced the Police Department, which garnered a commendable 137 votes. "Thank you to everyone who participated," the Facebook post stated. "This year’s donations equate to saving over 1,100 lives based on what was collected."

However, it's important to note that blood donation appointments often experience a dip during the summer months, as suggested by the Stanford Blood Center. This decrease can be attributed to seasonal factors such as family vacations and the cessation of school-based blood drives, which usually contribute significantly to the blood supply.

James Black, a spokesperson for Carter BloodCare, commented to CBS News, "A lot of people are surprised to find out that 25% of the community blood supply is collected through high school blood drives. So when our student donors are on break, it really has a ripple effect on the overall community blood supply."

Drawing a comparison between the nation's blood supply and a fuel tank, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasized the need for continual blood donations to meet the demands of hospitals. They further highlighted that in the US, a patient needs a blood transfusion every two seconds, demonstrating the vital need for maintaining a robust supply of blood. Currently, there's a critical shortage of O+ and O- blood types, which further stresses the urgency for more donors.

"Each day, the Red Cross must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations for patients at about 2,500 hospitals nationwide," stated Rodney Wilson, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross. "This need doesn't stop for the season, weather, holiday, or a pandemic."