DOVER — Bayhealth teamed up with the Blood Bank of Delmarva and Delaware State University Athletics to host the third annual Ballin’ for Blood Drive on Feb. 1.

The event booked 47 donors at Bayhealth Court in Memorial Hall on the university’s campus in Dover. Donors also were entered into a drawing for four tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers game in March.

Several students and others were registered during the Hornets’ basketball double-header Jan. 27.

Contributing to the cause were Delaware State students and staff, Bayhealth team members and other community residents.

“As part of Bayhealth’s community outreach efforts, we create opportunities that impact the health of everyone,” said Amanda Bowie, Bayhealth’s interim vice president of marketing, communications and community outreach. “The Ballin’ for Blood Drive has become a staple event for us that we hope to grow for years to come.”

Primary stroke program coordinator Kimberly Holmes donated blood at the drive and said she is motivated by her loved ones to do so regularly.

“My mother recently had major surgery and required several units of blood. I cannot imagine being told, ‘Your mother needs a blood transfusion, but we don’t have any blood to give her.’ We can all make a difference by donating.”

The drive at DSU, a historically Black university, coincided with the start of Black History Month, when the Blood Bank is working to increase the number of African American donors.

Bayhealth is the primary health care provider for Delaware State Athletics and a longtime partner of BBD, which supplies blood to its hospitals and stand-alone emergency rooms across Kent and Sussex counties.