Blood donations needed urgently

DETROIT, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Several chapters of the American Red Cross are short of blood because of the holidays, so they suggest starting the New Year right by saving a life.

For example, the American Red Cross Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region is asking all individuals 17 years and older, 110 pounds or more and in good health to immediately help save lives -- today. Blood donations are urgently needed to help boost a dwindling blood supply exacerbated by the long holiday weekend -- the holidays often keep people from donating blood.

"This time of year is considered the season of giving. Unfortunately, it's also the time when blood donations plummet, yet the need for blood does not take a holiday," says Diane E. Ward, head of the American Red Cross Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region in Detroit.

If you donated earlier this year or are thinking of making your first donation, now is the time to roll up your sleeve and give one of the most important gifts, the gift of life, according to Ward.

Every two seconds someone in America will need blood, but donations historically decline during the winter when donors are away from home, school and work, according to the Red Cross.