Ohio State aims for third straight win in 43rd annual Blood Battle

Brutus Buckeye continues to support Ohio State's efforts in the annual Blood Battle

Ohio State aims for third straight win in 43rd annual Blood Battle

Student shares the live-saving impact of blood donation

For Morgan Kaiser, beating Michigan is always a good thing - and the 43rd annual Blood Battle between The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan is no different. This year, the event has new meaning: It saved her life. After donating last year, she was diagnosed with a blood disorder.

Kaiser, a third-year student studying neuroscience, was committed to blood donation long before her time at Ohio State. She first donated blood in high school in tribute to her grandfather, who regularly donated because of his O-negative blood type.

"That was something that I always really admired him for, and I did it in memory of him to honor his commitment," she said.

In high school, she participated in a local version of a blood battle against other schools and came to love the competitive nature. When she came to Ohio State, she knew she wanted to continue the tradition and joined the Buckeye Blood Club, a student organization dedicated to raising awareness about blood donation on campus.

As an intern for Versiti, Ohio State's blood donation partner, Kaiser planned and facilitated her own blood drive last year. She committed herself to tabling outside the Ohio Union, passing out flyers, writing chalk messages around campus, reaching out to student organizations and regularly stopping students to ask them to sign up.

"One of the things we always say in Blood Club is one of the top reasons that people don't donate is because they've never been asked," she said. "No one's ever approached them about it. One of our goals is to make sure that everyone has at least been asked once to donate, and you'll be surprised how many people actually do it."

Kaiser donated blood at her drive like the many times she had previously, but her life changed when she received a letter in the mail from Versiti telling her to do a follow-up test due to her platelet levels. She went back for testing to find that her levels were critically low - only 15,000, compared to the normal range of 150,000 to 400,000.

"If I were to have gotten into a car accident, had any sort of serious injury where I had a cut or a wound, there was a very high potential of me bleeding out without immediate care," she said.

Kaiser was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune disease that caused her immune system to attack its own platelets. Thanks to blood donation, doctors were able to catch the disease early. The same day as the diagnosis, Kaiser received an infusion to boost her blood's immune system and stop the attack on her platelets, which would restore her platelet numbers. The infusions were made from about 1,000 blood products from blood donors. After three rounds of treatment, she is now considered in remission for ITP but continues to watch her platelet numbers.

"It's a very weird, full-circle moment," Kaiser explained. "The whole reason I knew I had it was because I donated blood. The whole reason we caught it early enough was because I donated blood, and the whole reason that I ended up being OK was from other people donating blood. It's a really cool full-circle story and definitely gives me a little personal edge when it comes to blood club in general."

Now, as the vice president of blood services for Buckeye Blood Club, this experience fuels Kaiser's passion for getting students and staff to donate.

"It takes about an hour of your time, but every blood donation has the potential to save three lives, she said.

At past drives, Kaiser interviewed Ohio State football players across Buckeye Blood Club's social media platforms to encourage students and players to get involved.

The battle began on Oct. 23 and will end on Nov. 27. The Buckeyes are looking to take home their third consecutive win against the Wolverines in the Blood Battle and then on the field on Nov. 30. Buckeye Blood Club hosts multiple drives a day with incentives for donors like T-shirts, Ohio State football tickets and food coupons.

"You can help save a life and beat Michigan in the process," Kaiser said. "There's no two better things."

Reflecting on her own experience with the Blood Battle and blood donation, Kaiser's message to students who are hesitant is simple: "The feeling that you get after donating is so fulfilling, knowing that the blood you just donated will save somebody's life. It could be me, it could be the person that just walked past you, it could be any student on Ohio State's campus, anyone in the Columbus community. It could be you someday."

For information about where to donate, visit Versiti's website: https://versiti.org/ways-to-give/annual-blood-drives/ohio-state-vs-michigan-blood-battle

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