Roll up a sleeve this September and you could walk away with more than a cookie and a juice box — San Diego Blood Bank and SeaWorld San Diego are giving away 10,000 tickets to Howl-O-Scream, the park's nighttime Halloween event, to anyone who donates blood at a participating location through September 30.
SeaWorld's contribution is valued at over $950,000, according to ABC 10News San Diego, and marks the third consecutive year that the theme park's donation stands as the largest in-kind gift San Diego Blood Bank has ever received. The two organizations are aiming to bring in 10,000 blood donations across the region during the campaign, with mobile blood drives set up throughout San Diego and Orange counties in addition to the blood bank's fixed donor centers.
A Straightforward Trade: Give Blood, Get Scared
The mechanics are simple. Anyone who donates at any San Diego Blood Bank donation center or mobile blood drive receives a Howl-O-Scream ticket in return, and walk-ins are welcome alongside scheduled appointments. To donate, individuals must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health, per the outlet's report.
San Diego Blood Bank CEO Douglas Morton said the partnership has given the community a reason to link an act of generosity with a night of entertainment. “The need for blood never takes a holiday,” Morton said, according to ABC 10News, adding that SeaWorld San Diego has helped turn blood donation into an opportunity for the community to come together and save lives. SeaWorld's Tyler Carter said the park is excited to welcome blood donors to its nighttime Halloween event and that the partnership aims to reach 10,000 blood donors in the community.
What's Waiting Inside Howl-O-Scream
Howl-O-Scream, billed as San Diego's largest nighttime Halloween experience, opens Friday, September 11, and runs on select nights through Saturday, October 31. This year's lineup is being called the event's largest in history, featuring a sixth haunted house, new scare zones, dark speakeasies and themed bars, and live performances. Among the new attractions are “I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch,” described as the first major theme park haunted house adaptation of the 1997 film, and “Area 64: MOTHERSHIP,” which features an 80-foot alien mothership façade, according to SanDiego.org.
Appointment links and a full list of drive locations are available at sandiegobloodbank.org/howloscream, the outlet reported.
Why the Timing Matters
The campaign lands right after San Diego County Credit Union partnered with San Diego Blood Bank on September 1 to host mobile drives at seven county locations, an effort Patch reported was meant to replenish critically low supplies ahead of Labor Day weekend. Blood banks and hospitals routinely see inventory dip during summer and winter holiday stretches, when donors travel and schools close even as emergency care demand climbs, a pattern Hoodline previously reported on during the winter shortfall. Blood cannot be manufactured synthetically, which leaves donor turnout as the only lever blood banks have to keep shelves stocked.
The September push follows a record-setting summer for the organization. San Diego Blood Bank collected more than 3,500 pints during its 50th annual Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive at San Diego Comic-Con in July, according to the blood bank's own announcement. A single whole blood donation can be separated into red blood cells, platelets, and plasma, capable of saving up to three patient lives in regional healthcare facilities, per San Diego Blood Bank.
A Bigger Organization Behind the Local Drive
San Diego Blood Bank enters the fall as a subsidiary of Vitalant, a national nonprofit blood services provider, after a merger announced in January officially closed in May while the organization kept its local branding, donor centers, and leadership under Morton, according to KPBS. Founded in 1950 by the San Diego County Medical Society, the organization runs eight regional donor centers and 10 mobile units across Southern California, collecting more than 100,000 donations a year for hospitals throughout San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties, according to Giving Back Magazine.
Standard donor rules still apply during the campaign. Healthy eligible donors can give whole blood once every 56 days, up to six times a year, while double red blood cell donations require a 112-day wait, per Vitalant's donor guidelines. Blood donation screening in California also follows FDA guidance updated in late 2023 that replaced time-based deferrals for men who have sex with men with gender-neutral, individual risk-assessment questions for all prospective donors, according to Stanford Blood Center.
