Central West Account Manager for Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, John Feist, said so far seven teams from Bathurst and Orange had signed up to take part in the challenge.

"We have the Bathurst Bulldogs, St Pats League and CSU Rugby registered, along with a good mix of teams from Orange," he said.

"We're always looking for more clubs to register which is easy to do on our website.

"It's just as easy for people donating blood to affiliate with their club online, through our app or when you make your blood donation."

Bathurst Bulldogs President, Phil Newtown, said they were proud to be part of the challenge last year.

"We joined last year after a call came out from Emus and Orange City," he said.

"We made 18 donations saving 54 lives, which isn't a bad start but we're hoping to boost that number this year.

"It's a great cause and we will be pushing our guys and girls along with our supporters to make a donation under the Bulldogs team."

Marcus Burrell, President of CSU Rugby, said they were also happy to be able to join the initiative.

"It's about getting out there and giving back to the community," he said.

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"Donating blood is something we can nearly all do and while we got some good numbers last year, we are hoping to step up with more this year, especially with more students back on campus."

It's the fourth year of the Claret Cup, which began as a head to head battle between Orange Emus and Orange City Rugby.

In 2020, clubs from soccer and AFL in Orange along with Bathurst Bulldogs, St Pat's and CSU, joined the challenge making it even bigger and more productive.

Last year 239 donations were made which helped save 717 lives, and this year the target is 250 donations with the aim of saving 750 lives with donations being taken at the Orange Blood Donor Centre or the Mobile Blood Donation Van in Bathurst.

The Claret Cup Blood Challenge runs from Monday, February 1 to Monday, May 31, with more information available at my.donateblood.com.au/app/challenge/details/challenge_id/54.