(KAIR)--The American Red Cross is urging everyone to “give the gift of life” by donating a pint of blood.

Red Cross Spokesman Dan Fox says that blood is needed on a year round basis, not just in times of big, natural disasters as most people think. He tells MSC news that “what people may not be thinking about are the patients and victims of more personal disasters. We are talking about car accidents, we are talking about cancer patients who may receive blood products every single day as part of their treatment. We are talking about patients undergoing surgery, we are talking about premature babies, we are talking about  women going through childbirth. These are all examples of hospital patients who can, and often do need blood products as part of their treatment.”

Fox says that when you give blood, your donation can be used in many different ways. He says that “those units of blood, or those pints of blood that you are donating can be broken into various components. Red blood cells, platelets, plasma, they are different components of the blood...some hospital patients, they may not need every one of those components. You might have, for instance, someone suffering from cancer who needs platelets, so the Red Cross can break down those components, and our hospital partners can break down those blood units into the various units that the hospitals and the patients need.”

Anyone who may be interested in donating, or may have questions about the donation process, can find more information on the Red Cross' website redcross.org.