The American

Red Cross is holding a special blood drive at The Gathering Place in Peachtree

City Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

The drive comes

at the beginning of the holiday season when blood supplies can trickle

down to less than a day's worth for certain types of blood, said Cammie

Barnes of the American Red Cross Blood Services Southern Region. Officials

prefer to have a three-day supply on hand to meet the needs of local hospitals,

Barnes said.

Donors with

type O or B blood are especially needed, Barnes said.

"Maybe

they can bring a friend or family member with them; that would be great,"

Barnes said.

The holiday

shortage is mainly due to schools and businesses not being able to host

blood drives as they normally would because of the holidays, Barnes said.

People wishing

to donate blood can either walk-in or schedule an appointment by calling

1-800-GIVE-LIFE or via the Internet by visiting www.givelife.org.

The entire

process takes approximately one hour, Barnes said.

The regularly

scheduled blood drives at The Gathering Place on the first Monday of each

month have been successful, Barnes said. But the Saturday date allows

others to donate who can't on Mondays and future blood drives may be planned

for Saturdays on a regular basis, she added.

The Red Cross

encourages people to donate blood twice a year. If every eligible donor

followed that guideline, there would never be a blood shortage, Barnes

said.

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