The American Red Cross is issuing a call for type O negative and AB blood donors to make an appointment to give after severe winter weather in parts of the country resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of blood drives in March. The Red Cross is reporting more than 8,500 uncollected blood donations.

Local blood drives will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28 at Claremont St Luke’s Church, 2050 N. Indian Hill Blvd. and on Friday, March 31  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, 1601 Monte Vista Ave., Claremont.

Type O negative blood and type AB plasma are two of the most in-demand blood products by hospitals.

Type O negative blood can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is often needed in emergency situations when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.

While less than seven percent of the US population has type O negative blood, hospitals depend on frequent O negative donations to ensure it’s always available for patients in need.

Type AB is the universal plasma type and can be transfused to patients of any blood type in an emergency. Plasma helps maintain blood pressure and supplies critical proteins for clotting and immunity. Plasma can be donated through a blood donation.

A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-Red-Cross (1-800-733-2767) for more information or to schedule and appointment.