Donors at Blood Bowl roll up sleeves

The seventh annual Blood Bowl draws donors from throughout the area. It featured the chance to win Bucs- and Gators-related prizes.

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 23, 2000

Jim McNulty of Brooksville donates blood throughout the year. But when the annual Blood Bowl rolls around, as it did on Saturday morning, it's a can't-miss, he said.

"This one's a special one," said McNulty, a fifth-grade teacher at Suncoast Elementary who donated blood on Saturday along with his wife, Nancy, and son, Jason.

The seventh annual Blood Bowl, held in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Cortez Boulevard in Spring Hill, is a sports-themed event in which donors often show their allegiances by donating blood in the name of a college, high school or professional sports team.

McNulty said his blood donation would go toward the Florida Gators' tally, which drew a groan from a blood bank worker sporting a Florida State hat.

Ed Downey of the LifeSouth Community Blood Center, which oversees the Hernando County blood banks, said the goal of the annual event is to attract new donors and to reward those who donate throughout the year.

"We are always thankful for any blood we get from the community," Downey said. "We are hoping this encourages new donors to come out and donate. Hopefully, they'll become regular donors."

The event originally was scheduled for October, but was postponed when Hurricane Irene threatened Hernando County. It usually is held in October, he said, in anticipation of lower blood supplies during the Christmas holidays when people tend to turn their attention to travel and family matters.

This year, the county's blood banks dipped to emergency levels after the holidays, he said. That meant there were few reserves on the shelves in the event of an emergency at one of the county's three hospitals. Supplies have since recovered.

Hernando County donors have proved to be faithful and committed, Downey said. The blood bank supplies about 11,000 pints a year to the county's hospitals.

During the Blood Bowl, donors are given commemorative T-shirts and have an opportunity to spin the 2-foot-tall Wheel of Life to win prizes such as autographed sports posters, pictures and pennants. The coveted prizes on Saturday were a pennant signed by Bucs coach Tony Dungy and a football signed by University of Florida football coach Steve Spurrier.

On hand for the event were two Bucs cheerleaders and a Weeki Wachee mermaid.

Volunteer coordinator Pat Wells said 45 pints of blood had been donated by 10:30 a.m. Last year, 180 pints were donated. The goal for Saturday was 200 pints.

Shirley Bozung of Brookridge was helping the cause, as she has every year since she moved to Florida in 1997. She tries to donate blood every eight weeks, when she is eligible, but makes a point not to miss the Blood Bowls.

As a blood services coordinator in her former home in Pennsylvania, she said, "I know the importance of donating blood."

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