San Diego Blood Bank is asking those who have never given blood and those who haven’t given blood recently, and have type O blood, to donate blood immediately. Supplies of O positive and O negative blood are 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. 
“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,” said David Wellis, San Diego Blood Bank CEO. “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.”
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 SanDiegoBloodBank.org or by calling 1-800-4MY-SDBB. Walk-ins are also welcome.