# Why don't humans just donate blood for vamps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177 "2014-07-02T10:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/21 "2014-07-02T15:05:17Z")
This setup (humans donating blood) is used in China Miéville’s \*The Scar \*. In Dry Fall Riding on Armada they do it as a tax, in High Cromlech as charity. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/22 "2014-07-02T15:12:03Z")
> [@bup](#): > > We already are doing that. The government just covers it up. Well, maybe if they’d tell us, we could all help. People wouldn’t be afraid to report vampires for fear of being labeled insane if everyone knew vampires were real. Everyone could be issued stake guns, or whatever. Bring the problem into the light, so to speak. Or maybe vampires should demand their rights as citizens. Stop the vampire discrimination! Have a march on Washington (or Transylvania). They should be able to live their lives openly, free from discrimination. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/23 "2014-07-02T15:36:30Z")
At least a few versions of vampires from various works—the above Anno Dracula, for one example—can actually survive on animal blood, as well. Feeding on humans just being “tastier” (sometimes with supernatural elements), or more “nutritious,” and/or simply preferred by beings who (for biological, or just cultural reasons) see humans as little more than livestock and game that can talk. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/24 "2014-07-02T16:06:18Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Can’t we just kill all the vampires? That would be easier. Whether or not just killing them is the right answer depends on the vampire. If vampirism makes them hostile to human life, or if they’re just a bastard anyway, killing the vampire is the right choice. But if the vampire can and will act like a decent human being, killing them because they had the misfortune to be infected with a blood-borne disease should be considered a last resort - a form of triage and not an execution. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/25 "2014-07-02T16:14:18Z")
_[Perfect Creature](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403407/?ref_=nv_sr_1)_ ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/26 "2014-07-02T17:44:36Z")
> [@grude](#): > > In a heck of a lot of vampire fiction there is a war theme between vampires/humans/werewolves/etc. > > I’ve never figured out why humanity or individual nations don’t just offer a vampire amnesty, people will donate blood for you to live on AS long as you don’t kill. > > 😕Has anyone explored this idea? If this was done, it would destroy the need for any TV shows or movies about vampires. Many people enjoy watching Sci-Fi type fantasy type shows about vampires. I think that may be one answer. But there are probably others that people will explain if they immerse themselves in the fantasy that vampires could actually exist and live by drinking human blood. Personally, I think it’s important that people understand vampires are just a fantasy because I believe there have been a few cases where some crazy kids actually believed vampires were real and the result was that some people were attacked and some blood was taken by force from some people. The so-called “authorities” will respond in a very negative way to anyone who takes blood from people by force. That sort of thing is frowned upon by police and sherrifs, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/27 "2014-07-02T17:47:57Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Whether or not just killing them is the right answer depends on the vampire. If vampirism makes them hostile to human life, or if they’re just a bastard anyway, killing the vampire is the right choice. But if the vampire can and will act like a decent human being, killing them because they had the misfortune to be infected with a blood-borne disease should be considered a last resort - a form of triage and not an execution. For shame! No way I would want to see anyone kill Debra Wohl irl or even kill Jessica (the character she plays on True Blood). Can you imagine that someone may someday believe that killing all vampires is a good thing and that they might actually attack and try to harm Debra irl? I would be horrified because I think Debra is one of the most beautiful actresses that exist and I’d hate to ever see anything bad happen to her. Especially if it was done by some nutbar who believed vampires were real or that it was important to kill all vampires. It would be to cry! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/28 "2014-07-02T17:52:09Z")
It depends on the fictional universe, and the rules thereof. Folkloric vampires precede the notion of blood donations. In many fictional incarnations – and, I must say, the better ones – vampires are demonic entities compelled by their nature to be evil, by which I mean destructive, sadistic, and opposed to human interests on, ah, principle. They don’t feed on humans simply to survive; they feed on humans because they enjoy causing suffering for its own sake, or because they enjoy killing for its own sake, or because they want to damage if not destroy the human world. It would be foolish to voluntarily give such monsters what they need to survive. There are of course fictional universes in which vampires are not categorically evil. And, on second thought, I’ll retract the above implication that the only worthwhile stories are those in which the vamps are vicious killers. Bu even in a story in which the average vampire has the same odds of being good, neutral, or evil as the average human, it still strikes me as unwise to donate blood to something that is, in essence, a predator of humans. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/29 "2014-07-02T18:05:37Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > It is a valid approach. Either the Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire or the Vampire Overlord could act in this manner, drinking donated blood or from groupies rather than operating covertly or demanding more onerous tribute. Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series has this approach - vampires are legally protected, but are popularly seen as trend-setters and high class society. Human people are honored to be “drones” in their employ, even though part of the job description is to be dinner as well as decorative servants, and it’s considered an even greater honor to be considered as a prospective vampire (ie, getting turned) even though something’s been going wrong with the process lately and most everyone is dying horribly instead. I agree that it really seems like there could be some way to make blood donation work out, but the groupies or serfs approach is much more likely than an official program of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/30 "2014-07-02T18:18:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > There are of course fictional universes in which vampires are not categorically evil. And, on second thought, I’ll retract the above implication that the only worthwhile stories are those in which the vamps are vicious killers. Bu even in a story in which the average vampire has the same odds of being good, neutral, or evil as the average human, it still strikes me as unwise to donate blood to something that is, in essence, a predator of humans. What about thinking of a vampire as a human suffering from a disease that requires constant blood donations to live? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/31 "2014-07-02T18:18:56Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > What IS it with vampire fascination? Goddamned (literally) blood suckers! At least John Carpenter’s Vampires had the right idea. High tech hit teams hunting them with the Vatican’s blessing (again, literally). Well, the original \*Dracula \*was pretty much disguised porn for the Victorian era. And of course the Anne Rice oeuvre is… much less disguised :). So we’re fascinated by vamps because their modern incarnation is, at its very heart, all about illicit & twisted sex. And Freud was right. Back in the old days, not so much. The whole “they \*eat \*people alive” had more of an emphasis then 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/32 "2014-07-02T18:26:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@bup](#): > > > > We already are doing that. The government just covers it up. > > Well, maybe if they’d tell us, we could all help. People wouldn’t be afraid to report vampires for fear of being labeled insane if everyone knew vampires were real. Everyone could be issued stake guns, or whatever. Bring the problem into the light, so to speak. It’s cute how you have no idea the vampires _control the government_. Get your head out of the sand, man! It’s too big to be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/33 "2014-07-02T18:27:55Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > What about thinking of a vampire as a human suffering from a disease that requires constant blood donations to live? 😉 I acknowledge that it depends on the fictional universe and rules thereof. Vampires in a magical world tend to be evil; vampires that have a scientific or pseudo-scientific explanation tend not to be. It was the former I referred to when I said it would be stupid to donate blood to them. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/34 "2014-07-02T18:31:03Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, the original \*Dracula \*was pretty much disguised porn for the Victorian era. And of course the Anne Rice oeuvre is… much less disguised :). So we’re fascinated by vamps because their modern incarnation is, at its very heart, all about illicit & twisted sex. And Freud was right. > > Back in the old days, not so much. The whole “they \*eat \*people alive” had more of an emphasis then 🙂 Heh, _Carmilla_ has Stoker beat, in that respect. 😉 > **[Carmilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla)** > > Carmilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 25 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871–72), the story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla. The lead character is the original prototypical example of the lesbian vampire, expressing romantic desires toward the protagonist. The story is often anthologised, and has been adapted Car... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/35 "2014-07-02T18:38:51Z")
> [@grude](#): > > In a heck of a lot of vampire fiction there is a war theme between vampires/humans/werewolves/etc. > > I’ve never figured out why humanity or individual nations don’t just offer a vampire amnesty, people will donate blood for you to live on AS long as you don’t kill. > > 😕Has anyone explored this idea? It’s a possible solution to a sidequest in Fallout 3. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/36 "2014-07-02T18:54:30Z")
> [@grude](#): > > In a heck of a lot of vampire fiction there is a war theme between vampires/humans/werewolves/etc. > > I’ve never figured out why humanity or individual nations don’t just offer a vampire amnesty, people will donate blood for you to live on AS long as you don’t kill. > > 😕Has anyone explored this idea? Why da fuck would anybody do that? They are different than us. Therefore it is our Moral Duty to exterminate them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/37 "2014-07-02T19:01:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > It’s cute how you have no idea the vampires _control the government_. Get your head out of the sand, man! It’s too big to be stopped. Oh my god! I never considered! It all fits! Did vampires have anything to do with the World Trade Center? Was JFK a vampire? Were the Apollo astronauts vampires because only the undead can pass through the Van Allen Belts? Hey, I’m just asking questions! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/38 "2014-07-02T19:02:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Did vampires have anything to do with the World Trade Center? Was JFK a vampire? Were the Apollo astronauts vampires because only the undead can pass through the Van Allen Belts? No, obviously no, and you are thinking of the Mercury astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/39 "2014-07-02T19:03:26Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > There are of course fictional universes in which vampires are not categorically evil. And, on second thought, I’ll retract the above implication that the only worthwhile stories are those in which the vamps are vicious killers. Bu even in a story in which the average vampire has the same odds of being good, neutral, or evil as the average human, it still strikes me as unwise to donate blood to something that is, in essence, a predator of humans. In the YA novel _The Reformed Vampire Support Group_, the vampire characters subsist on the blood of guinea pigs that they raise for that purpose, but while this keeps them going they are weak and sickly. Human blood makes them healthy and strong, but is also depicted as addictive for them. The main character, who was transformed into a vampire at 15, has never had human blood and so has only the murderous thoughts typical of a 15 year old girl, but many of the other vampires struggle to resist the urge to attack mortals and drink their blood. (They’re all in the support group together because they believe it is wrong to kill people.) I can’t remember if these vampires specifically need fresh blood, but in this setting it seems like getting people to donate blood wouldn’t be a real solution. It would only result in a bunch of vampires at full strength that are addicted to human blood and not used to going without. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177/40 "2014-07-02T19:04:12Z")
There’s a fair number of universes where exactly that happens. Often in return for something from the vampire, like him or her ripping apart anyone who attacks the blood donors. In one novel I read it was in ancient times in return for the vampire’s knowledge; in a pre-literate society someone centuries or millennia old is an invaluable source of knowledge. On the other extreme, you have vampires like Barbara Hambly’s, who kill their victim every time they feed - donating just a little blood isn’t an option. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-humans-just-donate-blood-for-vamps/692177.md?page=3)