The San Diego Blood Bank collected over a thousand pints of blood during its collaboration with Comic-Con International during its 46th Robert A Heinlein blood drive.
Comic-Con cosplayers harnessed their inner hero by donating more than 2,100 pints of blood during the five-day blood drive. All blood donors will receive limited-edition Marvel Thor T-Shirts.
Over the course of 45 years, Comic-Con attendees, exhibitors, professionals, and staff have donated 53,707 pints of blood, which impacted up to 161,000 lives, according to the San Diego Blood Bank. Last year, the organization held 38-day virtual blood in July, and blood drives at the Marriot Marina Marquis during Comic-Con Special Edition in November 2021.
“As a result, more than 18,885 pints of blood were donated—making 2021 the most successful SDCC year ever! Thank you!,” wrote the San Diego Blood Bank in a news release.
The San Diego Blood Bank recently updated its blood donor pool with updated donor eligibility criteria. New updates by the Food and Drug Administration allow individuals previously deferred from donating blood because of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (Mad Cow) and others for risk factors, including geographical risk factors for variant CJD.
“These changes will allow many individuals who were previously deferred to re-enter the donor pool and help save lives,” said San Diego Blood Bank CEO Doug Morton. “We are excited to have more people join our lifesaving family.”
Click here to view the full list of changes at SanDiegoBloodBank.org/madcow-update.
To be eligible to donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 114 pounds and be in generally good health. Appointments are recommended and available at www.sandiegobloodbank.org/donate or by calling (619) 400-8251.
