Along with being the month when we make resolutions or start a new diet or exercise plan, January is also the month to raise awareness about the urgent need for blood donations.

Donating blood is a simple and relatively painless way to do something amazing: save lives.

January is National Blood Donor Month, established to combat winter blood shortages by honoring existing donors and encouraging new ones, while highlighting the critical need for blood for surgeries, trauma and chronic illnesses like cancer. January is often the month when blood shortages happen. Otherwise regular donors might have changed their plans due to the holidays, wintry weather or illness.

For these reasons and more, we hope you’ll roll up your sleeve at a blood drive in our community. More blood donors are always needed.

The American Red Cross holds drives throughout the region. For details, see redcrossblood.org.

One donation has the potential to save up to three lives.

Red blood cells can be extracted and used to treat patients who lost blood due to trauma or those recovering from surgery.

Plasma, the liquid part of the blood, can be frozen and stored for up to one year to help burn victims, cardiac surgery patients, liver transplant recipients, people with bleeding or immune disorders and people suffering from shock.

Platelets clot the blood when cuts or other open wounds occur, and are often used in the treatment of patients with cancer or those undergoing organ transplants.

There is no substitute for human blood. Every day, up to 29,000 units of red blood cells, 6,000 units of platelets and 6,000 units of plasma are needed by hospitals across the United States to help patients in need.

Rest assured that your blood donation is always needed. For example, victims of vehicle crashes often need numerous units of blood. Patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer often require frequent transfusions. A blood transfusion may save a mother’s life when complications happen during childbirth.

To donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old (or 16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health, without a fever, cold symptoms or other infections. You can donate whole blood every 56 days.

When you come to donate blood, a trained professional will ask you questions about your health. You’ll receive a mini physical, including checks of your pulse, temperature and blood pressure. You’ll also have your iron (hemoglobin) checked through a small drop of blood taken from your fingertip.

So this January as you are making resolutions or planning steps to improve your own health, consider “paying it forward” by donating blood.

— Debbie Streier is regional president/CEO at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center