As Bafana Bafana prepares to battle some of the top football teams at the FIFA World Cup this month, schools across the Western Cape went head-to-head in the Battle of the Blood Donors Campaign, recruiting new young blood donors and saving lives one donation at a time.
Just as on the football field, where rivalry drives performance and every match is crucial, this campaign brought out school pride and teamwork in a different kind of battle. Congratulations to every school that took part in this year’s campaign. Your efforts and commitment made a difference and saved lives.
The Battle of the Blood Donors campaign has been running for over 8 years and continues to play a key role in building a strong youth donor base. The campaign encourages learners to become first-time blood donors, motivates existing donors to continue donating and raises awareness of the ongoing need for blood. It also gives schools the opportunity to work together toward a common goal while representing their school with pride.
This year, there were slight changes. The Top 10 blood-donating schools of 2025 in the Western Cape, had the opportunity to battle it out in a series of head-to-head match-ups. Each school was paired against another, creating a friendly rivalry as they competed to recruit new donors, increase participation at their clinics and ultimately claim victory in the Battle of the Blood Donors.
With blood stocks often coming under pressure during the winter months, campaigns like these play an important role in securing a stable blood supply for patients in need.
How winners are selected
Schools were assessed using a pro-rata formula that looked at:
- The number of eligible donors at the school
- The number of new donors recruited
- Attendance at the blood donation clinic
- The number of units of blood collected
This approach ensures that schools of all sizes have a fair chance to winning and rewards those that successfully encourage participation and donor recruitment.
2026 Battle of the Blood Donors results
- Spine Road High School vs Rylands High School
- Bergvliet High School vs Fish Hoek High School
- South African College Schools vs Rondebosch Boys’ High School
- De Kuilen High School vs Bellville High School
- DF Akademie vs Parel Vallei High School
- Brackenfell High School vs Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
- Livingstone High School vs Islamia College
- Fairmont High School vs The Settlers High School
- Hoërskool Outeniqua vs Hoërskool Punt
- HTS Drostdy vs Worcester Gymnasium High School
Congratulations to Fairmont High School
A special congratulations goes to Fairmont High School, the overall winner of the 2026 Battle of the Blood Donors. They collected an outstanding 88 units of blood and recruited 52 new donors. Their success stemmed from a well-coordinated effort across the school. To promote their blood donation clinic, the donor representative made regular announcements over the intercom and during assembly briefings. Peer promoters also went the extra mile, visiting classrooms and encouraging fellow learners to donate blood and support the campaign.
This achievement did not happen overnight. Fairmont High School has consistently gone above and beyond in its efforts to support blood donation and encourage learners to become regular donors. The school has built a strong culture of giving back and continues to demonstrate what can be achieved when learners and educators work together. Last year, the school secured fifth place amongst the Top 10 Blood Donating Schools in the Western Cape after collecting an impressive 279 units of blood. Well done!
We certainly hope the schools display their trophies with pride and are ready to battle it out in next year’s competition!
