Sampson Regional Medical Center needs your blood.

We are hoping you will provide it. It could be the very best Christmas present you give yourself and others, even those you might not even know.

There never seems to be enough donors to fill the supply needs here and in just about every other hospital across the state and nation.

But the need for blood continues no matter what time of year, and the plea for donors continues..

While blood supplies, thankfully, aren’t critically low right now, keeping a good supply on hand is always the hospital’s goal, ensuring that should a lot be needed at any given time, there is always a supply available.

That’s why it is vital for those of us who can to contribute. It takes little time and little effort to become a blood donor, and the lives you might be able to save by doing so are gifts there is little way to measure.

Community and business blood drives are often held to help the hospital replenish the supply and make up for the lack of donors during the holiday season.

But even the drives come with a price tag. If most of those giving are regular donors, then they have to wait eight weeks before giving again.

What that means is a need for new donors.

Won’t you help? Won’t you provide the greatest gift a person can give another — a chance at life.

That may sound cliche’, but if you or someone close to you needed a transfusion and the blood simply wasn’t there, you’d quickly realize how true the statement is and how important being a donor really is.

Emergencies happen at the snap of a finger, and most people don’t know when they might need blood.

Wouldn’t you rather feel confident that the blood is going to be there regardless of when the need arises? Wouldn’t you rather know that the hospital’s blood bank could handle whatever emergency comes up, when it comes up?

We certainly would.

When blood supplies are low, that assurance isn’t there.

That’s why everyone who can donate should.

Sampson Regional’s blood bank needs all types of blood, particularly types O and A.

It only takes a few minutes of your time. The risks are minimal, if risks exist at all, and the benefits are extraordinary.

All it takes to become a donor is three simple things: 1) to be 18 years old or older; 2) to be in good health; and 3) to weigh over 110 pounds.

It’s simple and it’s one of the most valuable things you can do.

So please help the hospital increase its blood supply. Please help others who need the gift of life you can offer.