Gamers Needed to Support Blood Supply June 12, 2019

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Patients across the nation are in trouble. The pool of donors providing millions of Americans with life-saving blood is declining at a detrimental rate. Roughly 45% of the nation’s blood donors are over 50 years old, and as the population ages, it gets harder to maintain the levels needed to save lives.

This World Blood Donor Day, celebrated June 14, Kentucky Blood Center is highlighting the critical need for regular blood donations. To help engage a new generation of young donors, Blood Centers of America and many of its members like Kentucky Blood Center, have partnered with Team Liquid, a multi-regional, professional esports organization with a national fan base of more than seven million gamers.

The Kentucky Blood Center-Team Liquid partnership takes aim at a key demographic – less than 20% of blood donations come from donors age 20-34 years, and young males donate at even lesser rates.

“We are continually focused on recruiting young, vibrant, healthy blood donors,” said Bill Reed, President and CEO of Kentucky Blood Center. “When young people see the life-saving power of their donations, they are more likely to continue donating throughout their lifetime.”

Custom, limited edition “Team Liquid Turns Red” t-shirts will be offered to anyone who donates at one of KBC’s donor centers or mobile drives and tells the team at registration they are donating for the “Heal for Real” campaign.

“We’re proud to partner with Blood Centers of America and its members on this life-saving initiative,” said Team Liquid’s CEO, Steve Arhancet. “Our fans are such a supportive, tight-knit community, and now we’re calling on them to help us accomplish something bigger than what we could achieve in any competition. Collectively, we have the opportunity to make a measurable impact on communities as well as save lives.”

The need for blood is significant. Every two seconds, an American needs blood. One whole pint of blood can save three or more lives. As the blood provider for more than 70 Kentucky hospitals, Kentucky Blood Center ensures donated blood reaches patients at hospitals and health systems throughout the Commonwealth.

“As the average age of our donors continues to climb, we see the importance of recruiting younger donors,” Reed said. “The esports industry continues to grow and has recently become a KHSAA sanctioned sport for our area high schools. With the rising popularity at both high schools and colleges, we believe this is a great opportunity to encourage this group to become blood donors and save lives.”

To find a donation center or mobile blood drive near you, visit kybloodcenter.org.

Kentucky Blood Center is the largest independent, full-service, nonprofit blood center in Kentucky. Licensed by the FDA, KBC’s sole purpose is to collect, process and distribute blood for patients in Kentucky. KBC provides services in 90 Kentucky counties and has donor centers in Lexington, Louisville, Pikeville and Somerset. 

Team Liquid was founded in 2000 and has evolved into one of the leading international multigame esports teams with training centers in Utrecht, The Netherlands, Sao Paulo, Brazil and Los Angeles, California. Team Liquid has over 65 athletes competing across 17 distinct games, including all major esports titles, such as DOTA 2, League of Legends, CS:GO, Fortnite, PUBG and more. Led by Co-CEOs Steve Arhancet and Victor Goossens, Team Liquid is one of the most successful esports teams in the Western market in terms of competitive achievement and fan engagement across multiple sports.  Their League of Legends franchise is undefeated in North America in 2018 and 2019, claiming LCS titles in back-to-back splits and a second place finish at the international tournament the Mid-Season Invitational, while their CS:GO team is currently ranked #1 in the world.  For more information: https://goo.gl/dSYvHT.

In addition to the premier esports team franchise, Liquid Enterprises operates various business units created to complement its esports athletic brand. This includes influencer management agency, Liquipedia, Liquid Media, and 1UP Studios, the full service production company known for its high-quality esports documentary style filmmaking, and creative commercial content.

Controlling interest in Team Liquid was recently purchased by esports ownership group, aXiomatic. aXiomatic leadership includes Co-Executive Chairmen Peter Guber, Ted Leonsis, Jeff Vinik and Bruce Karsh who together represent an unparalleled team of sports, technology, entertainment and investment industry titans.