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San Diego Blood Bank issues urgent call for donations of Type O blood

O-positive is the most common blood type, and is needed by many hospital patients, while Type O-negative is the universal blood type and can be given to anyone.

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Blood Bank is urging anyone with Type O blood to donate immediately. Supplies of O-positive and O-negative are currently at critically low levels.

Type O-positive is the most common blood type and therefore needed by many hospital patients, while type O-negative is the universal blood type and can be given to any patient and is often used in emergency rooms when there is no time to determine the blood type of the patient.

San Diego Blood Bank CEO, David Wellis, said, “Coming out of the holiday season, we typically see a decrease in donations of all types at this time due to schools being out of session for the holidays and seasonal illnesses like the flu.” He went on to say, “The need for Type O blood has hit a critically low level and we need the community to help us keep a safe supply for local hospital patients.”

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San Diego Blood Bank has six donor centers throughout San Diego County and bloodmobiles out in the community, making it convenient to donate.

To be eligible to donate blood you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 114 pounds and be in general good health. Anyone who is eligible to donate blood and has O-negative or O-positive type blood is encouraged to make an appointment immediately at www.SanDiegoBloodBank.org or by calling 1-800-4MY-SDBB. Walk-ins are also welcome.

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