Lionsgate has been nice enough to provide Cinematical with the second poster for the Saw IV blood drive (click on the photo for a larger image) -- an event held annually since the first Saw was released. We previously brought word of the first poster in the series (I believe there will be a total of 4 or 5 of these) which showed a side-profile of the mannequin-like nurse. This time she's sitting in a padded chair, gently pulling up her nurse's skirt to seductively reveal a little sumthin' sumthin' ... if you know what I mean.

Unfortunately, we cannot promise that the nurse pictured (or someone who looks like her) will indeed be the one drawing your blood, but we can promise that your donations can (and most likely will) save lives. Since 2004, 38,000 pints of blood have been donated (a figure that's doubled each year), all of which have helped to save the lives of as many as 112,500 people. Partnering once again with the American Red Cross, Lionsgate's Saw IV blood drive will run through the first week of the film's release, and folks can give blood at a number of locations across the country. For more info on the blood drive and the film, head on over to the official website of the American Red Cross. Saw IV opens nationwide on October 26.

As Posterwire.com points out, it's a promotional stunt worthy of exploitation film pioneer William Castle. The producers of the Saw films have organized blood drives to promote the release of each installment of the franchise. Posters promoting the Saw 3 blood drive, however, required some retooling at the request of the American Red Cross. The posters originally showed creepy goth nurses whose uniforms displayed the well known Red Cross symbol. While the symbol may be commonly thought to be in the public domain, it is in fact a registered trademark and has been removed from the posters (here's a before and after). Interestingly, this is not the first time the Saw franchise has needed to rethink it's posters, as the MPAA took issue with the original design for the Saw II poster, resulting in a less graphic print being used.

While some might consider this a tongue-in-cheek form of self-promotion, it's hard to argue with the results. For the 2004 1st Annual Saw Halloween Blood Drive, 4,200 pints of blood were collected, and the 2005 2nd Annual Saw II Blood Drive upped the ante to 10,000 liters of blood. Needless to say, hopes are running high for the 3rd Annual Saw 3 Blood Drive to exceed both its predecessors. For more information on this year's blood drive, click on over to Saw 3's official site.