This post was updated Dec. 1 at 11:08 p.m.

The UCLA Blood & Platelet Center is rallying community members in a race against time, with its Big Ten blood donation competition set to conclude Dec. 6.

This partnership between the Big Ten and healthcare organization Abbott has brought together 18 schools in a competition to collect life-saving blood donations and raise awareness about a nationwide blood shortage. The competition started Sept. 26 and counts the number of blood donors at each school.

Ahead of the Big Ten championship football game, the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center is leading a spirited effort to claim the top spot in the competition, which comes with a $1 million dollar prize toward health and wellness for the university that donates the most blood during the season.

Medical director of the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center, Dr. Dawn Ward, said UCLA is committed to come out victorious.

“This is a great way to really highlight the cause of blood donation,” she said. “We’re even more special at UCLA because we have the Ackerman Student Union donor center, so we’re able to allow our undergraduate and graduate students come in and donate”

Kathy Zagala, manager for donor recruitment at the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center, said the event aims to serve as a platform to display the importance of blood donation through its partnership with Abbott, the Big Ten and UCLA itself.

There is a critical need for blood donations, Zagala added, saying initiatives to increase donations demonstrate the institution’s commitment to public health and the greater good.

“People don’t realize how important donating blood is,” Zagala said. “You can’t manufacture it (blood).”

In Los Angeles, there are many issues pertaining to blood transfusion, said Emily Ritzo, the senior manager of public affairs for Abbott. She added that these issues include a shortage of blood supply and the age of the average blood donor increasing – which inspired Abbott to join the cause.

“I think what people might not realize is that the need for blood is constant,” she said. “Every donation saves three lives.”

As a leader in the business health sector, Abbott also has a major social responsibility with public health issues, said Vish Charan, the divisional vice president of product development and a UCLA alumnus. Charan added that this issue was one they decided to target because Abbott works closely with cardiovascular medical devices and blood testing to improve cardiovascular health.

Tom King, the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center campus recruiter, said there is a critical, ongoing need for blood donations. He said each donation has the potential to save multiple lives, noting that donating blood can touch so many lives, even if we do not know who they are.

“We always need it,” King said. “There are always patients that need blood. We never collect everything that we need to collect.”

With UCLA’s widespread impact and the amount of sports fans it has, Charan said it is important that UCLA takes the lead and spreads the pertinence of this issue as much as possible.

Charan added that Abbott will continue to partner with schools regarding major health issues to inspire children to be involved. Abbott organizes blood drives at various campuses across the country and is focused on continuing to promote this initiative as part of its broader efforts to advance the company, he said.

“We want to make this a normal thing to do, and we want to make it easier,” Charan said.

As the campaign nears its end, Dr. Ward said UCLA remains focused in its efforts to combine school spirit with a commitment to public health, aiming to secure the top spot in this groundbreaking competition.

“UCLA likes to be number one,” she said. “We’re the number one public university, and so we also want to be number one in this campaign with the Big Ten Conference and Abbott.”