The American Red Cross has launched the Missing Types campaign to encourage new and returning donors to give blood in an effort to alleviate a shrinking donor base.
Across the country, the letters A, B and O (used to identify blood types) are disappearing from company logos, brands and high-traffic websites to highlight the growing need for these blood types. Campaign partners include Google and IBM.
Blood collection organizations across the globe are challenged to gather more donations, and for the last four years, Red Cross donors have declined by about 80,000 annually.
"Every day thousands of patients across the United States rely on generous blood donors for critical blood transfusions," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the Red Cross. "However, we have seen a troubling decline in the number of new blood donors. We urge the public to roll up a sleeve and fill the missing types before these lifesaving letters go missing from hospital shelves."