All of the American Red Cross blood drives in the southern region fell short of their blood donation goals last month, and Theresa Guess, the donor recruitment representative, said the Red Cross is making a special appeal for donations.

“At the Tifton community blood drive on June 17, our goal was to collect 150 units of blood,” Guess said. “We only collected 87 units.”

The blood inventory is so low there is now a constant need for all blood types but donors with O positive, O negative, A negative and B negative blood types are being asked to donate right away.

“It is especially crucial for donors with type O blood to donate within the next few days,” Guess said. Type O is the most common blood type and is used extensively by hospitals. Type O donors are considered universal donors because their blood can be given to most other blood types in emergencies when there is no time to type a patient’s blood. Hospitals commonly experience an increase in traumas during the summer, making the need for type O even greater.

The American Red Cross Southern Blood Services Region needs approximately 1,200 people to donate blood each weekday to meet the needs of hospital patients. Most people who are age 17 or older and weight at least 110 pounds are eligible to give blood every 56 days. The American Red Cross distributes blood to more than 130 hospitals throughout the Southern Region.

Blood drives to be held in Tift county in July include:

• July 14

Ty Ty Baptist Church from 4 until 8 p.m.

• July 15

Tifton First United Methodist Church from 1 until 6 p.m.

This is a community blood drive.

• July 21

Tifton Eastside Baptist Church from 3 until 7 p.m.

• July 29

Tifton First Baptist Church from 3 until 8 p.m.