The American Red Cross is encouraging residents to donate blood in January, which is National Blood Donor Month.

National Blood Donor Month has been observed since 1970 as a means to not only honor blood and platelet donors, but also to help increase donations during the winter months. Red Cross officials explain extreme winter weather and seasonal illnesses typically have a significant impact on donor turnout.

In case you didn’t know how important blood donation is, check out these facts from redcrossblood.org:

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
• The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
• Sickle cell disease affects more than 70,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer last year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.