January 6, 2026 ─ Our Blood Institute is in critical need of type O blood donors, with supplies of both O-positive and O-negative blood at low levels following the holidays. With patients living in the balance every day, O donors are needed now to support hospitals and emergency responders.
Two types of O donors with lifesaving impact:
- O-positive (O+) “Gold Donors”
O-positive donors are often called Gold Donors because of the crucial role they play in emergency response. Their donations help ensure low-titer O whole blood is available on ambulances and medical helicopters for trauma patients before they ever reach the hospital. Their gifts can determine survival or death in the first, “golden hour” after a severe injury.
Gold Donors’ special contributions include:
- whole blood units carried on ambulances and air transport for all-comer, all-purpose transfusions
- rapid response and patient stabilization in the field, during transit, and in emergency rooms
- definitive trauma surgeries to fix severe wounds and injuries
This whole blood contains red cells, plasma and platelets together, allowing medical teams to act immediately with full range therapeutic benefits when seconds matter.
- O-negative (O-) “Universal Donors”
O-negative blood is known as universal blood, meaning it can be given to any patient of any blood type in an emergency when there are no time or tools to determine blood type.
O-negative is used frequently for:
- trauma patients
- infants and newborns
- emergency room bleeding victims
Because of its wide usefulness and the fact that fewer than 1 out of every 14 people have it to give, O-negative is often the very first blood type to run critically low.
“Without O blood donors, emergency care simply cannot function at the level our communities depend on and deserve,” said Dr. John Armitage, president and CEO of Our Blood Institute. “O blood allows first responders to act quickly and decisively when every moment matters.”
National Blood Donor Month: a call to give now
National Blood Donor Month is a time to recognize the lifesaving power of blood donation and to encourage others to give. We urge all eligible O blood donors – both Gold Donors and Universal Donors – to schedule a donation. By giving now, you help maintain a strong and reliable blood supply for emergency responders, hospitals, and patients in our community.
A pattern of post-holiday shortage
For the past three years, Our Blood Institute has entered emergency appeal status during this same time period. Donation appointments typically decline in late December and early January due to travel and school breaks, even while the need for blood continues.
“We’re asking group O persons, both those who are donors and those who should be, to make time to give now,” Armitage said. “Your donation helps ensure blood is available on ambulances, in emergency rooms and in operating rooms, where it just might save you, your loved one, or a friend.”
How to donate
Anyone who is healthy and 16 years old* or older can give blood. Donation typically takes only about an hour, and one donation saves up to three lives. Appointments to donate can be made online at obi.org or by calling 877-340-8777. Walk-ins are also welcome.
*16-year-olds must weigh at least 125 pounds and provide signed parental permission; 17-year-olds must weigh at least 125 pounds; 18+ year olds must weigh at least 110 pounds. Photo ID required.
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Our Blood Institute is the sixth-largest independent blood center in the nation, with 17 donor centers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. OBI is the nonprofit blood provider for patients at more than 240 hospitals, medical facilities and air ambulances across all three states.
