During the San Japan: Sinister 6 convention, a blue box was placed in the middle of the room. Although it was a great opportunity for cosplayers to take photos of themselves in front of it, this blue, police box served another purpose aside from novelty.

The Doctor Who Fans Unite organization, a fan club revolving around the hit BBC show “Doctor Who,” partnered with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.

The organization was able to create a life-sized TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) from the television show, to attract attendees at the convention to donate blood.

The real draw is to be let inside though, which can only be done by donating blood or donating five dollars to the actual bank. The TARDIS is famously described as being “bigger on the inside.”

With a rare opportunity presented to be inside, fans and non-fans alike lined up to give blood.

“In last year’s convention, we collected over 1,000 units of blood which is 621 gallons of blood,” said Shannen Herrera, phlebotomist for the blood drive. “To put that into perspective, each unit can save up to 3 lives.”

Even though Herrera doesn’t watch anime, she did confess to wanting to watch an episode of “Doctor Who” after seeing so many fans and hearing everything they have talked about it.

“I knew there was a TARDIS replica where you can take photos but I didn’t know we had to donate blood,” said Sonya Santiago, cosplaying the TARDIS.

At the end of the convention, the organization was able to raise $500 in donations and had 90 individuals donate blood, totaling 11 gallons.

Jaime Quesada may be reached at [email protected]