Blood supplies across the nation and region have reached critically low levels and donations are urgently needed to continue to help critically ill patients everywhere.

“We’re asking everyone to give some thought to giving a pint,” Michael Pasquale, M.D., physician in chief, Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence, said.

“Donating blood is safe and more importantly, a lifesaving gift. We all likely know someone who benefited from a blood transfusion.

“Blood and blood-derived products are used for infants in neonatal intensive care, people receiving cancer treatment, people who suffer traumatic injuries and those who need surgery.

“The need is real and takes less than an hour of your time.”

To schedule a blood donation, call 1-800-B-A-DONOR (800-223-6667) or schedule an appointment online at GIVEaPINT.org.

Blood drives are already scheduled at three Lehigh Valley Health Network locations. However, donors are not limited to these events. They should call or register online for the location and time most convenient for them.

LVHN blood drives:

•LVH - Hazleton – noon-5 p.m. June 16

•LVH - Cedar Crest – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 7

Blood donation facts:

•O-positive is the most common blood type and one in three people will need this type of blood transfusion.

•O-negative blood, the universal blood type, is used to treat patients in emergency situations when hospital staff don’t have time to determine an individual’s blood type.

•With trauma incidents common during the summer months, the need for O-positive and O-negative blood is constant.

•About 450 pints of blood are needed every day in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey region served by Miller-Keystone Blood Center, the supplier of blood products for LVHN and 28 other hospitals and health networks.