Red Cross officials are urging people this summer to donate blood amid shortages.

Donations tend to decrease as fewer drives are held in school and more people travel during the summer months. Officials say last month they collected 26,000 thousand fewer donations than needed to have a healthy blood supply.

"It affects our ability to respond to medical emergencies and chronic blood conditions that require blood transfusions," says Tiffany Taylor, a Biomedical Specialist with the American Red Cross.

If blood is not easily available, elective surgeries could possibly be postponed.

The decrease also impacts people with sickle cell disease because they rely on regular blood transfusions to manage pain and prevent life-threatening complications.

While donors of all blood types are needed, Type O is the universal blood type for emergency transfusions and for immune-deficient infants.

Click here to find a blood drive nearest you.