Lionsgate and the American Red Cross announced yesterday a formal partnership for the Fourth Annual SAW “Give Til It Hurts” blood drive benefiting the Red Cross.

The blood drive will coincide with the Halloween premiere of the latest title in Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ SAW franchise, SAW IV, which opens nationwide on October 26, 2007.

The SAW IV blood drive will begin approximately two months before the film’s premiere and will continue through the first week of its release. Lionsgate and the American Red Cross will host blood drives on college campuses and other locations across the country, tapping into the desire among young people to give back in a tangible way.

The SAW “Give Til It Hurts” blood drive has become a key element of the SAW franchise, as much a part of the horror hit’s annual rituals as its Halloween premiere date. Since the first SAW blood drive in 2004, SAW filmgoers have donated nearly 38,000 pints of blood to help save as many as 112,500 lives. Collection totals have doubled year after year: during the 2004 inaugural drive, 4,200 pints were collected, in 2005, 10,000 pints were collected, and in 2006, 23,493 pints were collected, resulting in tens of thousands of lifesaving blood transfusions.

SAW star Tobin Bell, who portrays the terrifying Jigsaw, will be featured in several PSA’s advertising the SAW IV blood drive. For the fourth year, the campaign’s graphic elements will be created by Lionsgate’s Palen, an award-winning fine art photographer whose sleek, witty images of the beautiful SAW nurses have played a major role in driving traffic to previous blood drives.