LUMBERTON — The American Red Cross is holding multiple blood and platelet donation events in Robeson County through early June. According to the Red Cross, blood donations are a vital part of medical care for several conditions, from illnesses such as cancer and sickle cell disease to injuries like severe burns and car crash victims.

“The need for blood is constant,” said Kaitlyn Connolly, Red Cross communications manager. “Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.” The Red Cross collects about 40% of the nation’s blood supply, needing to collect more than 12,000 whole blood and 3,000 blood donations every day to meet the needs of patients, Connolly said.

Whole blood donations are the simplest of the donation options the Red Cross provides, as they take every part of the blood. They are also the most versatile, as they can be transfused as-is or broken down into varying components as needed. It’s most often used for patients recovering from significant blood loss from injury or surgery.

Individuals with type O negative blood are particularly encouraged to give whole blood donations. O negative only makes up for 7% of the population’s blood type, so it is constantly in low supply and high demand in hospitals. Those donations can be used for any patient and can save the lives of those in critical condition when there is no time to determine their blood type.

Platelets are primarily responsible for blood clotting and stopping bleeding. Organ transplant recipients and cancer patients undergoing chemical treatment often lack platelets in their blood and bleed excessively while in surgery or when injured.

Donating platelets is a longer process than whole blood donation, as the platelets are separated and taken to hospitals. The rest of the blood is returned to the body during the donation. While there are platelets in whole blood, the Red Cross says a single dedicated platelet donation gives as many platelets as five whole blood donations, spreading the influence the donations have to more patients.

Just as O negative blood is the universal donor for whole blood, AB positive is the universal platelet and plasma donor. Individuals with this blood type are encouraged to consider platelet donation above other forms of donation.

Individuals who donate before the end of May will be emailed a coupon from Sports Clips Haircuts for a free haircut.

Alongside one that took place on May 9, The blood drives in Robeson County are as follows:

May 22, Lumberton Chevrolet, 500 Linkhaw Road. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

May 30, Pembroke Building, 1009 Old Main Road. 1-6 p.m.

June 3, Robeson Community College ComTech, 124 Livermore Drive. 1:30-6 p.m.

To learn more about blood donations or to sign up and become a donor, visit redcrossblood.org.