As a vampire series following on the heels of the Twilight Saga and True Blood, The Vampire Diaries knows it must differentiate itself in some way.

Enter a show-themed blood drive, a unique, charitable campaign that will help save lives and spread the word about this CW drama.

In conjunction with the American Red Cross, The Vampire Diaries is sponsoring a blood drive that will take place across 230 high school and college campuses around the country, according to Stephanie Millian, director for biomedical communications at the Red Cross in Washington.

The Red Cross is also working with the network “to produce a public service announcement that will feature members of the cast,” Millian told The New York Times.

The partnership is “an opportunity to engage the younger members of our communities,” she added, adding that Americans between the ages of 16 and 22 represent “25 percent of our donors."

Damon Salvatore may disagree, but this sounds like an awfully cool idea.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.