PROVO -- Q: When is blood blue?

A: In Utah County, when Cougar fever is high in the days leading up to the big game against crimson rival University of Utah.

To prove that, the American Red Cross is asking for your blood -- er, your help -- to both best the Utes and increase the blood supply in Utah at a time when blood donations historically go down.

John Petersen, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, said they have seen a decline in both blood donations and the demand for blood donations, so the supply isn't low. That reduction in donations could be because people have H1N1 influenza and are staying away, people are avoiding much public interaction because of H1N1 or it may have nothing to do with swine flu -- people are just busy during the holiday season. Generally, donations do drop this time of year, he said. Even the economy could be a factor in the low supply.

"It's difficult to say whether it's attributed to one single factor," he said.

Nationally, blood supplies are low, and officials aren't holding back the finger of blame from the swine flu. According to a Nov. 10 Wall Street Journal article, about a fourth of blood centers have seen a decline in donations because of swine flu, and high schools and businesses are reducing or canceling their drives because of high absenteeism.

Utah seems to be bucking that trend. A blood drive at BYU Wednesday was on target to meet the same goal as last year, and a drive at American Fork Hospital could bring in even more blood than previous years. Todd Smith, a faculty member at Provo High School, said while they were still looking for 25 more people to donate in a Dec. 7 blood drive, they had not even thought about any effect swine flu might have, and they were not worried about it.

Marilyn Peralta, director of MountainStar Blood Services in Utah, agreed that this time of year is usually more difficult and their donations so far are at normal levels. Not enough of the population is sick for swine flu to be a major factor, though she acknowledged that could change.

"It has the potential of really affecting us severely," she said.

Petersen said the holiday activities tend to crowd out other tasks, so donating blood often is forgotten. That's where the incentives come in; the Red Cross is having the Utah vs. BYU blood battle, and on Tuesday had a drawing for "New Moon" movie tickets for donors. MountainStar is holding a Gift of Life program, starting Dec. 7, in which donors get a free haircut from Renaissance Academy; that will run through the end of the year.

BYU senior Briana Rae unexpectedly contributed to BYU's cause on Wednesday. She went to the blood drive at the Wilkinson Center because she hadn't donated in a while and knew she needed to. She's not afraid of needles; she had a few minutes to spare and homework to do with one hand while flexing around a small cylinder with the other.

"I have good blood, and I figured I might as well share," she said.

Junior Steven Marshall said he's been traveling out of the country too much in the last few years to donate often, but he came Wednesday as a show of solidarity, both for his roommate and his grandfather. His roommate wanted company, and his grandfather underwent open heart surgery on Monday and needed a couple of pints of some stranger's blood. So he's giving his own for someone else.

"I can just see the way that it's important," he said.

• Heidi Toth can be reached at 344-2556 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

Local blood drives

Thursday

• BYU Wilkinson Center: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

• American Fork Utah West LDS Stake: 517 W, 700 North, 2:30-8:30 p.m.

• Stevens Henager College: 1476 Sandhill Road, Orem, 4-9 p.m.

Friday

• BYU Wilkinson Center: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday

• Orem Utah LDS Stake: 80 S. 280 East, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dec. 7

• Provo High School: 1125 N. University Ave.

• Renaissance Academy: 227 W. 1230 North, Provo, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

To donate any other time:

• MountainStar: 152 W. Bulldog Blvd, Provo; (801) 342-7835

• American Red Cross: 384 E. 1300 South, Orem; (801) 221-7640