Generally, you will want to make an appointment to donate blood ahead of time and fill out the eligibility questionnaire that is provided. Before you head to your appointment, you should eat a good meal and make sure you're hydrated. While blood donation only takes minutes once you’ve started, plan on the entire appointment taking about an hour between the health assessment, prep and recovery time.

You can find any blood center or mobile drive in the U.S. to donate blood between August 12 and December 4. Starting August 26, upload proof of donation at bigten.org/abbott or text GIVEBLOOD to Abbott (222688) and follow the prompts. Messaging and data rates may apply.

For the purpose of this campaign and for eligible donations to count in the We Give Blood competition, the donor must be 18 years or older with a valid form of ID to verify age, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health. You may still be able to donate if between the ages of 16 - 17 pending state parental consent requirements, but donations will not count towards the competition.

To qualify for donation, there are a lot of factors taken into consideration to make sure the blood supply is safe. Some of these might affect your ability to donate blood during the campaign.

Common reasons you may not be able to donate include anemia, having a new or multiple sexual partners in the past three months, some heart conditions or heart-related medications, recent or current antibiotic use, certain vaccinations if administered recently, and travel to countries at risk for certain infectious diseases, such as malaria. To learn more about eligibility, call your local blood center – or visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site here.

Whole blood, double red and platelet donations are all accepted donations in the We Give Blood competition and count as one point towards your school of choice. Because our submission is unable to determine which blood type you donated, an individual is only allowed to submit their donation this year every 7 days.

Want to know the difference between each? Whole blood donation takes about 10 minutes and includes all blood components, which are later often separated for use. It can be done every 56 days.

Double red cell donations use a special process to collect two units of just red blood cells during a single donation and takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You’re the right type to give double red cells if you are O+, O-, A-, or B-. You can make a double red cell donation every 112 days.

Platelet donation takes around 1.5–2.5 hours and collects only platelets while returning the rest of your blood. Platelets are especially needed for cancer and transplant patients and can be donated every 7 days, up to 24 times per year.

Easy! Visit bigten.org/abbott/submit and fill out the required fields or text GIVEBLOOD to Abbott (222688) and follow the prompts provided (messaging and data rates may apply). Make sure to have your proof of donation handy to begin this process. For more information on what can be used as proof of donation, see question 10.

There are about 3,500 locations where people can donate blood across the country and many mobile drives that happen at additional locations. To find blood centers or blood drives near you, visit bigten.org/abbott/donate.

A small number of sites in the U.S. are now offering Abbott’s mixed reality experience for blood donation to manage stress and promote relaxation related to the blood donation process. Click here to learn more about this or see if there is a blood center offering this experience near you.

Whole blood donation usually takes about an hour from start to finish, with the actual blood collection itself lasting about 10 minutes. The donation process includes registration, a brief medical screening, donor history questionnaire, mini-physical, collection, and post-donation refreshments. Your blood center may ask to collect a different product to help patients which may change the collection time.

In 2023, the FDA made changes in blood donor eligibility to include changes in travel restrictions and allowing blood centers to have a new screening process that focuses on a risk-based donor assessment. With this change, gay and bisexual men are welcome to donate blood without a deferral period based solely on their sexual orientation.

Please reach out to your blood donation center representatives for additional center specific information about the FDA's policy as needed.

Proof of donation or the attempt to donate may be submitted in the form of a picture of a moment or document that demonstrates that you donated or presented to donate. Big Ten reserves the right to disqualify submissions that do not meet such criteria. You can view examples of types of proof of donation here: bigten.org/abbott/help. Please do not upload proof of donation that includes any personal health data or information.

Please ensure your proof of donation file size is no larger than 5MBs. Acceptable file formats are PNG, JPEG or GIF. If you are still having trouble, please contact AbbottCustomerService@tsmgi.com.

In this competition, 1 blood product donation = 1 point towards the school of the donor’s choice every 7 days. Eligible participants can donate at any blood center or blood drive nationwide throughout the length of the We Give Blood competition. Once a donation is complete, participants need to submit proof of their donation at bigten.org/abbott/submit or by texting GIVEBLOOD to 222688 (messaging and data rates may apply) so their efforts can be counted towards the school of their choice. Donations will be tracked in real-time from August 26 to December 4. The school with the most donations at the end will be announced on December 5 at the Big Ten Championship Game and win a $1 million grant from Abbott to advance student or community health. For the official rules of this competition click here.

This campaign is about creating the next generation of lifetime donors. Just because you're not eligible to donate, or your donation was unsuccessful, doesn't mean you can't make a difference. Here's how you can make an impact, even if you’re not able to donate:

If you aren't eligible to donate blood yourself but want to make a difference for your school and community, we encourage you to enlist friends to donate. You can help spread the word by using #WeGiveBlood on your personal social media channels throughout the 2026 Big Ten football season.

No, your school will not get a point if you are deferred by the donation site, but you are still eligible to receive a limited-edition T-shirt. You can still make an impact in your local community by spreading the word about the We Give Blood competition on your social media channels and with your family and friends.

The FDA set guidelines for how often a donor can donate and other eligibility: whole blood and red cells donations for transfusions and platelet donations. A person can submit multiple donations within the We Give Blood campaign period after 7 days from their previous donation, as long as relevant agency guidelines for blood donation are observed.

Thank you for donating platelets – as millions of people need donations to survive and fight cancer, chronic diseases or traumatic injuries. Our submission is unable to determine which blood type you donated, so an individual is allowed to submit their donation every 7 days in this year’s competition.

Anyone who presents to donate during the We Give Blood competition can claim one of the 18 limited-edition university T-shirts. Shortly after your donation (or attempt to donate) is submitted, you’ll receive an email with your unique code and website to claim your T-shirt. This unique code must be redeemed by Friday, December 11th. Shirts are limited to one per person, while supplies last. Shirts are non-transferrable, not redeemable for cash, and apply to people who present to donate.

The U.S. continues to face urgent blood shortages, with some blood centers reporting less than a one-day supply of blood on hand. Blood donations are needed every two seconds for a wide variety of medical reasons, including trauma and accident victims, mothers experiencing complications after childbirth, and individuals receiving cancer treatment. As people get older, they become less likely to be eligible to donate blood. At the same time, the number of young people donating blood has been falling in recent years. With the We Give Blood competition, Abbott is working with Big Ten universities and blood centers across the country to ignite the next generation of lifelong blood donors.

The donation is tested by a special FDA test for infectious disease to ensure it is safe for patients. These tests cannot diagnose disease, only a healthcare provider can make that determination. We encourage every donor to review the donation center's consent and ask questions about the center's medication deferred list. For more information on what happens to your blood after it’s collected, please visit: https://www.aabb.org/regulatory-and-advocacy/regulatory-affairs/regulatory-for-blood/donor-safety-screening-and-testing