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Kentucky donors again outpace Vols for 4th consecutive Big Blue Crush win

Kentucky Blood Center

In one of the closest competitions in the event’s 38-year history, Kentucky Blood Center pulled away from Tennessee’s MEDIC Regional Blood Center on Friday to win the 2025 Big Blue Crush. Kentucky prevailed with 2,143 donors over the five-day competition, edging Tennessee’s 2,018.

The back-and-forth battle this year saw Tennessee take hold of the lead on Tuesday and into Wednesday, but Kentucky donors seized the lead Thursday and closed the door on a comeback attempt on Friday with 408 donors.

KBC, with the help of its loyal donors, has won the annual blood battle to collect the most blood for the fourth consecutive year and the 14th time in the last 16. Kentucky now leads the Volunteers 23-14-1 overall.

Big Blue Crush was created in 1988 to motivate donors to stock the shelves for Thanksgiving week knowing that donations dip during the holiday.