- August 27, 2026
- By Maryland Athletics Staff
The Alumni Association collected 35 units of blood on Wednesday from donors including Cheyanne Feldman ’30 at its drive supporting the We Give Blood campaign. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
The University of Maryland is calling all Terps to donate blood during the Abbott and the Big Ten We Give Blood drive, a nationwide competition to turn school pride into life-saving action.
Students, fans and alums who show up to donate and log their donation made from Aug. 12-Dec. 4 will be eligible to receive an exclusive, limited-edition Maryland T-shirt while supplies last and help UMD get one step closer to winning $1 million from Abbott to advance student or community health.
The need is urgent: For only the second time in its history, the American Red Cross has declared a national blood crisis after donations dropped to a four-year summer low, threatening the availability of lifesaving blood for patients across the country.
The first 300 donors in the DMV who donate or donated at any of the following drives will receive a free ticket to the Maryland football game vs. Hampton on Sept. 5:
- Aug. 26: University of Maryland Alumni Association Blood Drive at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center
- Aug. 28: American Red Cross Montgomery County Chapter House Blood Drive (Silver Spring
- Aug. 26-Sept. 3: American Red Cross Columbia Donor Center
- Aug. 26-Sept. 3: American Red Cross Lanham Blood and Platelet Donation Center
Donors through Dec. 4 can count their donation by taking a photo of or saving their donation confirmation and logging it at BigTen.org/Abbott or text GIVEBLOOD to 222688 (ABBOTT).
Donation totals will be tracked on a live leaderboard at BigTen.org/Abbott throughout the campaign.
In its first two years, the We Give Blood campaign collectively generated more than 100,000 donations and helped save as many as 300,000 lives. Last year, Maryland students, fans and alumni from across made 1,440 donations.