Bay Area Blood Banks Issue Emergency Appeal for Blood Donations.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- On the heels of the holiday weekend, Bay Area blood banks are reporting serious shortages of blood. Stanford Blood Center, Blood Centers of the Pacific and the American Red Cross are asking for immediate blood donations to boost the critically low blood supplies.

Going into the 4th of July holiday weekend, blood supplies were at their lowest point in several months. Today, the Bay Area has only one-day's supply on hand. Bay Area hospitals need more than 1,500 pints of blood and blood components each day -- not including the additional 250-300 donations area blood banks must import daily from other parts of the country to meet local demand.

Across the region, less than 4% of those eligible to donate blood actually do. And with high school and colleges out of session for the summer, the number of blood drives held drops by 15%, yet the need for blood continues.

To encourage more blood donations, all three blood centers are offering incentives for blood donors during the month of July: Stanford Blood Center is offering tie-dyed T-shirts on specific dates, Blood Centers of the Pacific is providing passes to amusement parks and the American Red Cross is holding drawings for gas cards.

--Stanford Blood Center 1-888-723-7831; http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu.

--Blood Centers of the Pacific; 1-888-393-GIVE; www.bloodcenters.org.

--American Red Cross 1-800-GIVE-LIFE; www.BeADonor.com.

Blood donations help accident victims, those undergoing surgeries and treatments for diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anemia. Giving blood is easy, safe and only takes about an hour. To donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 lbs. or more and in general good health.