Poudre Fire Authority wins bragging rights in 9/11 Blood Challenge

Friendly competition draws almost three times as many blood donations as last year
By:
September 15, 2015
Captain Patrick Love from Poudre Fire Authority holds the 9/11 Blood Drive Challenge traveling trophy. PFA won the 2015 challenge.
The second annual 9/11 Blood Drive Challenge was a showdown between Poudre Fire Authority, Fort Collins Police Services and Poudre Valley Hospital Emergency Medical Services. The blood that was donated as part of the 2015 event will help more than 350 people.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The crews in Poudre Fire Authority stations throughout Fort Collins just earned big bragging rights.

The firefighters came back from behind in the final day to win the second annual 9/11 Blood Drive Challenge, a fierce-but-friendly competition between the PFA, Fort Collins Police Services and Poudre Valley Hospital Emergency Medical Services.

To win the bragging rights and gain possession of the challenge’s official traveling trophy, PFA had the most blood donations made in its name between Sept. 1 and Sept. 11 at three mobile Hero Bus blood drives and the Garth Englund Blood Centers in Fort Collins and Loveland.

“In the end, though, everyone wins,” said DiGiallondardo. “We know that 9/11 is a difficult time for many people. We are thrilled to give the community a way to give back and turn the day into something better.”

Every blood donation, which typically takes about 30 minutes, can save up to three lives, according to Christina DiGiallondardo, University of Colorado Health’s blood donor recruiter. The blood that was donated as part of this year’s challenge will help more than 350 people, DiGiallondardo said.

All blood that is donated throughout the year at UCHealth’s Garth Englund Blood Centers, stays local. It helps patients at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Greeley Emergency and Surgery Center and Estes Park Medical Center.

To learn more about blood or platelet donations, call the Garth Englund Blood Center at 970.495.8965 or go to uchealth.org and search for blood donation. Businesses that are interested in hosting a blood drive during the year or during next year’s challenge can call DiGiallondardo at 970.495.8987.

Poudre Valley Hospital