Blood donations typically fall during the summer as the vacation season takes donors away from their communities for a week or two. But, for the past 50 years, San Diego has been able to tap a superpower, getting some of the thousands who attend Comic-Con International to fit blood donations into their conference schedule. And, keeping with the event’s swag tradition, there is always some sort of perk involved. This year, donors received a limited edition Spider-Man T-shirt.
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This year’s Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive, which has occurred every year since 1977 and is named after the American science fiction author of “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Starship Troopers,” was an especially productive drive, with the San Diego Blood Bank announcing that its workers collected more than 3,500 pints of blood during the five-day run of Comic-Con 2026. Reaching this stretch goal, noted Douglas Morton, the organization’s executive officer, was particularly satisfying as a commemoration of Comic-Con’s 50th anniversary. The blood bank has asked for donations every year.
“What it allows us to do is really have a good cushion,” Morton said. “But we never want to tell people ‘don’t donate because we have enough.’”
Blood, he noted, lasts on the shelf for 35 to 42 days, and the blood bank sends a few thousand units to its clients every week.
“We’re always trying to balance the message,” Morton said. “Yes, the great donors at Comic-Con have helped, but let’s not stop.”
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In fact, other areas that do not have a perennial July donation opportunity that brings more than 100,000 visitors to town are feeling the pinch. The American Red Cross put out an urgent call for donations Monday, notifying the public of what it called its “second-ever national blood supply crisis,” stating that donations “have fallen to a four-year summer low.”
Local supply figures for Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties, which has contracts with several local medical providers, were not available as of Monday afternoon.
Anyone able to donate can make an appointment at redcrossblood.org or by calling (800) RED-CROSS. San Diego Blood Bank is also collecting and still has a limited inventory of those Spider-Man T-shirts available. Appointments can be made at sandiegobloodbank.org/donate or by calling 619-400-8251.
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