(HealthDay)—Following a blood shortage triggered by the Fourth of July holiday week, the American Red Cross has called for donations of all blood types, but especially type O.
There were at least 550 fewer blood drives last week than during an average week, officials explained. Summer is typically a difficult time to collect enough blood to meet demand because high school and college blood drives account for as much as 20 percent of donations during the school year.
On June 11, the Red Cross launched a summer-long program to encourage people to donate blood. While that campaign has brought in new donors, the agency says that it needs blood from all eligible donors as soon as possible. While all blood types are needed, type O negative and positive are especially crucial.
Source: Read Full Article