Blood donations are especially important during the holiday season, when increased travel and winter weather can lead to more accidents and a greater need for transfusions, according to a local blood bank worker.
“A lot of the time, unfortunately, with the weather and everybody traveling from multiple different states, there are a lot of accidents that happen,” said Mollie Holt. “We like to have a lot of blood on hand because people have to go into surgery sometimes, and they’ll need transfusions.”
Holt said there are no specific shortages at the moment, but staff aim to collect as much blood as possible during the holidays. She said O-positive blood is the most common type, followed by A-positive, while A-negative is the rarest.
“So for people who have those sort of blood types, we would absolutely love to take you in,” Holt said.
Greg Nicolaou, a longtime donor, said he has been giving blood since the 1970s and continues to donate regularly.
“I just think it’s the right thing to do,” Nicolaou said. “It’s something I can do for the community.”