A Dragon Con tradition continues: the Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” Blood Drive is back for 2023! This is the 20th anniversary of the blood drive, founded in 2003. Come open a vein and maybe save a life! All donors and volunteers will get a t-shirt and special badge ribbon, and scheduled donors will get a special gift. Make sure to also participate in the photo scavenger hunt, enter our daily giveaways, and get a chance to win a big grand prize. More info on that below.
One big change for this year—the Food and Drug Administration has removed most restrictions on men who have sex with men or who take PreP. In addition, restrictions on living in Europe or on having chemotherapy were removed last year. For complete details, visit https://www.lifesouth.org/fda-update.
LifeSouth will be set up to accept donors on the Conference level (LL3) in the Hyatt Regency Atlanta during the following hours:
Thursday 10AM–7PM
Friday–Sunday 10AM–7PM
Saturday 10AM–7PM
Sunday 10AM–7PM
Monday 9AM–3PM
Donors must be 17 years of age or 16 with parental consent, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in good health. Photo ID is required.
To schedule your donation in advance and get that special gift, visit https://donors.lifesouth.org/donor/schedules/center/33.
New this year is the Photo Scavenger Hunt. To enter, each day wear or find someone wearing a specific past Blood Drive t-shirt, take a picture of it, and post it on social media with #LifeSouth. You could win one of five $50 gift cards or two memberships to Dragon Con 2024! The t-shirt years we’re looking for:
Thursday: 2022
Friday: 2019
Saturday: 2016
Sunday: 2017
Monday: 2012
Pictures of the correct t-shirts can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/alan.koslow/posts/pfbid02Y2mwkVmaspzx5DTjTFw1d8oxaNj4JDi66kS1B9hVSGKD5CkbH1ZzvMPRrRUfV7yZl
Now, about those prizes: 10-15 people each day will win prizes donated by dealers and artists. But the big news is that a private donor has committed to donating up to TWO host hotel rooms for 2024. They will donate one room if 50 people enter and two rooms if 250 people enter. All you have to do to enter the daily drawings and get a chance at the big prize is take a photo of yourself either donating blood or volunteering with the blood drive and post it on Facebook with #DCCRoom23.
The Blood Drive has set a goal of breaking 4,200 attempts to donate blood for 2023. So go! Donate! Win prizes! Save lives!
