How To: Host a Vampire-Themed Blood Drive

January is National Blood Drive Month, but anytime of the year is perfect to schedule red-liquid donations. While we trust your marketing abilities, why not exploit vampire fever and draw more people in using a vampire theme.

1. Partner with a local vampire society (Blood Bank). Call up a chapter of the American Red Cross, United Blood Services, or a local organization and tell them you are interested in organizing a blood drive in your community.
2. Find a place. Try a busy area in your neighborhood like a place of worship, fire station, hotel ballroom, restaurant banquet hall, mall, or the local community center. Make sure they'll let you decorate.
3. Pick a date and time. What about at night (since that's when vampires come out)? Make sure to check that there are nurses and equipment available from the Blood Bank / Blood Center on that day.
4. Tell your donors that they must meet the requirements to give blood/get a bite from Edward Cullen. For example, vampires will bite humans 17 years old or older nationwide, but only certain states allow vamps to feed off of 16 year olds for donations. Human donors under 19 years of age must also meet certain height and weight requirements. If you are hosting a drive in a diverse area, think about providing volunteer translators for those that will need this instruction in another language.
5. Promote the drive. Think of a really great name for the drive. You will probably receive posters, brochures, and pledge cards from the blood service. Mix those in with themed collages or posters you make with characters from Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and other recognizable faces on them. Use tag phrases like:
   • Save a life. Starve a vampire.
   • Edward is hungry...for you to help people in need.
   • Quench our thirst for blood.
   • Stefan Salvatore will protect your blood.

   Most blood services have webpages where blood drives are posted, so make sure yours is included!

6. Schedule Appointments. People will begin contacting you on-site or on the phone. Have a method of scheduling their appointments based on how many people at a time the blood center has told you to bring in. Get the donors’ phone numbers so you can remind them shortly before the event.
7. Decorate your space..
   • If it's daytime, black out the windows to allow for good vampires to attend.
   • Label different areas of the room Forks, Mystic Falls, Transylvania, Bon Temps and decorate accordingly to look like forests, castles, etc.
   • Ask the nurses if you can label syringes with character names so people can choose if they want Dracula, Damon, or Alice to bite them.
   • Make the donation chairs more like coffins.
   • Serve some red punch for afterwards.
8. On the day of the event Greet your volunteers and go over the schedule. Post arrows and posters telling people where to go.
1. On the day of the event, humans come into the location and fill out a mini medical history.
2. Humans meet with nurses/vampires who check their health and take a blood sample/appetizer.
3. Humans go to the donation area and a registered nurse/vampire starts to collect/suck blood with a new, sterile, disposable, and used only once needle (this process takes about 10-12 minutes).
4. After the donation, provide humans with a sitting area and provide red punch and snacks.

SOURCES: The Red Cross and United Blood Services.