LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The American Red Cross is asking for more blood donors and blood donations. 

The Red Cross said it continues to see a concerning trend of donations being sent to hospitals faster than they are coming in. According to the Red Cross, it has collected about 50,000 fewer blood donations than needed over the past two months.

Steve Cunanan, the regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross, said summertime is particularly difficult when it comes to blood donations, citing multiple reasons. 

"Demand tends to go up in the summer," Cunanan said. "People are out, people are traveling, you have more injuries and then the other thing that happens is, people don't really think about donating blood during the summer. They may not be in schools, they may not be at work as much, they're on vacation. So you have the supply and demand that's really challenged right now."

He said O negative blood is always needed because it is the universal donor and often used in trauma situations where this is not time to type someone's blood. He also said there is a high demand for B negative blood because it is so rare.

Cunanan said the donor population overall is aging, and the Red Cross is hoping to get more people to sign up to become regular donors. He said donations can be given about every 56 days.

"Nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks about, 'I'm going to need blood today.' One in seven people that enter into the hospital need a blood transfusion," said Cunanan.

The Red Cross is holding multiple blood drives. To schedule an appointment or look for one available near you, you can download the Red Cross Blood Donor app, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or sign up online by clicking here.

For those who sign up to donate July 12-Aug. 12, they will be entered for a chance to win a three-night trip to New York for two with a private shark dive adventure at Long Island Aquarium. For details, click here. 

Then on July 17-31, donors will receive a Shark Week t-shirt while supplies last. They will also be entered for a chance to win the trip to New York with the shark dive adventure.  This is being done through a partnership with Discovery to encourage donations around Shark Week.

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