More Than a Rivalry: The Life-Saving Power Behind Big Blue Crush

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — Big Blue Crush, the annual blood-drive showdown between Kentucky and Tennessee, is underway this week. And for Kentucky Executive Associate AD Stephanie Simmons, the event represents far more than a rivalry. It represents the reason she’s here today.

Simmons was healthy, active, and prepared heading into the birth of her second daughter, Charlee. But moments after delivery, she began experiencing severe pain. Doctors quickly realized she was hemorrhaging.

She lost consciousness, was rushed into emergency surgery, and ended up needing five units of donated blood to survive. Five strangers, people she will likely never meet, saved her life.

That experience reshaped everything.

Stephanie Simmons

“If I didn’t have the blood I had, I wouldn’t have been able to raise my daughter," Simmons said. "My husband would have been a single dad."

Now, she’s a regular blood donor and a vocal supporter of Big Blue Crush, which helps replenish the state’s supply heading into the holidays, a time when donations drop, but demand doesn’t.

This year marks the 38th Big Blue Crush, and Kentucky Blood Center leaders say the need is critical. One in four people will need a blood transfusion at some point in their lives.

Simmons hopes her story reminds BBN just how powerful a single donation can be.

"When you are a recipient of blood, there’s a soul connection, there’s a spiritual connection to that, where someone has taken something out of their body to give to someone else they don’t know, they don't have a relationship with. It’s so impactful. It changes the trajectories of lives."

Big Blue Crush continues through Friday at sites across UK’s campus and all Kentucky Blood Center locations.

For more on Kentucky Athletics and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.

BBN Tonight