As part of an international movement, the American Red Cross is launching the ‘Missing Types’ campaign to recruit new blood donors and those who have not given recently, and officials are encouraging Santa Clarita Valley residents to give blood as soon as possible.

Santa Clarita residents will have the opportunity to donate blood at the Santa Clarita Old West Masonic Lodge, located at 19310 Avenue of the Oaks. Opportunities will be available at the location twice a week through September.

For more information on when to donate, click here.

The Missing Types campaign is to ensure lifesaving blood is available for patients.

“Unfortunately, blood shortages still happen and the number of new Red Cross blood donors is shrinking each year,” said Cliff Numark, senior vice president of Red Cross Blood Services. “That’s why the Red Cross is asking those who have never donated blood and those who haven’t given in a while to make a lifesaving donation. You are the missing type patients need.”

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, according to Red Cross officials. Only three percent of the U.S. population donates each year.

For the past four years, new Red Cross donors have declined by about 80,000 each year. This is not just a Red Cross trend, but a challenge blood collection organizations face across the country and around the world, according to Red Cross officials.

During the campaign, the letters A, B and O – the main blood types – will disappear from brands, social media pages, signs and websites to illustrate the critical role every blood donor plays, according to the organization.

Potential donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds and in generally good health to donate blood.

The Red Cross has gain the support of 18 partners to join the Missing Type campaign, including: Adobe, Anheuser-Busch, AvalonBay Communities, Inc., Domino’s, Dropbox, Google, IBM, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Mastercard, Nationwide, Neiman Marcus, the New York Yankees, Oreo, PayPal, Salesforce, State Farm, Sunoco and U.S. Bank.

For more information about the campaign or to donate blood, click here or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

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