Have You Ever Donated Blood?

The American Red Cross is facing a dilemma that could end up affecting millions of Americans. According to The Red Cross, as per USA Today, the organization's national blood supply is at its lowest level in 15 years. What that means is, for whatever reason, less people are donating blood, which is bad news for patients in need of just that.

The organization says summers are normally bad for donations because schools that host blood drives are closed and people are often on vacation. However, this summer has been worse than usual. Severe heat and bad storms have caused people to opt to stay home and have led to the cancellation of various blood drives throughout the country.

Giving blood may seem "scary" to some, but you never know if your donation will end up saving another person's life. And if The Red Cross is unable to up donation levels quickly, doctors around the country are going to have to start canceling surgeries. "We need to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't get to that point," said Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer for the Red Cross.