Donate Blood In RSM, Get $20 E-Gift Card

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — The American Red Cross is urgently asking for blood donations amid an emergency nationwide shortage of its blood supply.

Donors of all blood types — especially type O blood donors and those giving platelets — are needed to keep the blood supply strong enough to support critical patient care this summer.

"High flu activity in nearly every state may be sidelining donors, slowing efforts to rebuild the Red Cross national blood supply," the American Red Cross said in a statement. "At the same time, hospitals already feeling the strain of the worst flu season in nearly 20 years are now also forced to triage critical blood products."

"Without immediate action, patients who count on transfusions — including trauma victims, mothers in childbirth and people with sickle cell disease or cancer — face serious risk."

To help get potential donors in a giving mood, the Red Cross will be offering a $20 e-gift card.

In and around Rancho Santa Margarita, residents can donate blood at the following drives:

• 1/26/2026: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 30522 Via Con Dios.
• 2/3/2026: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club, 25291 Vista Del Verde.

For more blood drives, visit the Red Cross's website.