The organizers will announce the amount of blood gathered between the two schools during halftime at the Sept. 13 NMSU/UTEP game in El Paso.
One unit of blood is estimated to save around three lives and NMSU is one of the largest blood donors in the area. Over the last six years, this blood drive has raised 3,478 units of blood on the NMSU campus, saving about 10,434 lives. Currently, the regional blood supply is severely low.
“It is important to come together as a community to help one another,” said Monique Hilverding, donor recruitment representative of United Blood Services. “It takes 175 blood donations every day to meet the needs of local patients and to be ready for emergencies.”
Those unable to make the campus blood drive hours may stop by the United Blood Services bank at 1200 Commerce Drive and donate.
In addition to the drive, this year NMSU will be hosting a “Twilight” marathon, beginning Sept. 6. Screenings will take place in the Corbett Center Auditorium and were made possible by NMSU Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
Attending a screening allows students to enter a drawing for a spirit pack. The spirit pack contains two tickets to the NMSU/UTEP game, two T-shirts and two passes for skipping the wait line at donation stations around campus. Students may enter once for every movie they attend.
Students that donate blood may also enter to win a second spirit pack, which includes two tickets to the game and two T-shirts.
Showtimes are as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 6:
Twilight- 6 p.m.
New Moon- 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 7:
Eclipse- 1 p.m.
Breaking Dawn I- 3:30 p.m.
Breaking Dawn II- 7 p.m.