All blood types needed
It’s important that donors of all blood types − especially those with type O − give now to ensure hospitals have the blood they need through the end of the year. Type O negative is the universal blood type and is what emergency room personnel reach for in the most serious situations when there is not time to determine a patient’s blood type; and type O positive blood can be transfused to any positive blood type patient and is also critical in trauma situations.
UFC and the Red Cross have a history of working together on both the local and national levels to help raise awareness for patients to collect thousands of lifesaving blood donations. A blood donation takes about an hour from start to finish, but the actual donation itself only takes about 8-10 minutes.
The Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood, and the only way to obtain transfusable blood is through donations, Flanigan said. “For as long as medicine has been around, we’ve had to rely on the generosity of others to give blood so it’s available when needed,” she said. “Any of us – our friends, family, neighbors – could be in an accident or become ill some day and need blood. Yet, in the U.S., where 62% of the population is eligible to give, only 3% does.”