Fireworks, picnics … and blood donations
Jul 2, 2025, 5:49 PM
A man holds a gauze after a blood donation on July 29, 2024. (Photo: Carl Court, Getty Images)
(Photo: Carl Court, Getty Images)
Local blood banks are hoping you’ll consider it your patriotic duty to donate this Independence Day.
Juan Cotto said Bloodworks will be open on the Fourth of July. It’s a 365-day-a-year operation, because he said the need for blood is constant.
“The number one surgical procedure is still blood transfusions. I believe that one happens every two seconds — think about that — one happens every two seconds in the United States,” Cotto said.
He said hospitals often require more blood during the summer months, with Americans traveling and engaging in more activities.
“There is an increase in accidents,” Cotto explained.
Blood donations especially needed during ‘100 deadliest days’
In fact, Bloodworks said the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are often referred to as the “trauma season,” or the “100 deadliest days.”
The demand for blood could increase even higher with Independence Day falling on a Friday and celebrations extending into the weekend.
“We want to make sure that if there is a situation where a person needs blood, that it’s available for them,” Cotto said.
They’re happy to accept any type of blood, but they’d particularly like donations of O positive (O+) and O negative (O-) blood.
Cotto said O positive is the most common type of blood in the population.
O negative is considered the universal donor, because it can be given to people who have any blood type.
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