Click play to listen to this article.

(Indiana News Service) The holiday season of giving has people searching for the perfect present for loved ones. One gift can save lives, but only if you'll roll up your sleeve.

The American Red Cross said this time of year, a combination of winter weather, an increase in travelers and seasonal illness means blood donations typically decrease. But the need remains steady.

Beth Sweeney, executive director of the Southwest Indiana chapter of the American Red Cross, said all donations are needed, but especially from those with the universal 'O' blood type, and people giving platelets.

"Blood has a shelf life of only 42 days," Sweeney pointed out. "That's another reason we have to continuously keep those donations up every day, to collect about 12,500 blood donations, and about 3,000 platelet donations, to meet the needs of patients in hospitals."

Blood types 'O' negative and 'O' positive are the first choices for doctors who cannot determine a patient's blood type in an emergency, Sweeney explained. And platelets, which allow the blood to clot, should be used within five days of donation. The American Red Cross in Indiana has centers in Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Merrillville.

In past decades, there were questions about whether someone with HIV could safely donate blood, and since the pandemic, there has been uncertainty about donors who have tested positive for COVID. Sweeney noted in August, the American Red Cross implemented updated Food and Drug Administration guidelines for blood donation eliminating most eligibility questions.

"The Red Cross can welcome more donors through a more inclusive blood donation process," Sweeney emphasized. "In 2022, in alignment with those FDA guidelines, the Red Cross eliminated the deferral of donors who spent time in certain European countries because of a risk of possible exposure to mad cow disease."

The Indiana Department of Health has issued an Indiana Blood Donation Education booklet geared for high school students, and the Red Cross website lists all requirements for prospective donors.

Sweeney added 62 percent of Americans are able to give blood, but only about 3 percent actually donate.