SoCal launches urgent blood drives as critical blood type supply runs dangerously low

SoCal needs blood now — and you can help. The charitable American Red Cross declared a critical need for universal donor Type O blood and others after donations dropped to a four-year summer low. The blood crisis grew so critical at one point that the organization had less than a one-day national supply of Type O positive blood in late July. American Red Cross leadership emphasized the enormity of the problem. “When blood donations decline, patients facing emergencies, cancer treatments and other serious medical conditions can feel the impact almost immediately,” Jacquelyn Clites, regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, told the Los Angeles Daily News. A great opportunity for Southern Californians to give blood is at this weekend’s large-scale blood