Blood Banks Appeal For Donations

GLENVIEW, IL - JANUARY 16: Phlebotomist Kasia Sikora (R) prepares Myrtle Sellers to donate blood at LifeSource Blood Services January 16, 2003 in Glenview, Illinois. Significant blood shortages have strained the National supply, leaving many parts of the country with less than a one-day supply. More than 60 percent of the community blood centers represented by America's Blood Centers have reported inventories of two days or less of "Type O" red blood cells. During the past two weeks, Red Cross blood inventories have dropped roughly 50 percent and nearly two-thirds of American Red Cross regions have issued some form of local emergency media appeal for increased donations. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)