Last Tuesday, the Department of Information issued a press statement urging people to give blood because there was a shortage of supplies.

The National Blood Transfusion Service later told this newspaper that an increase in the number of accidents and in operations has led to a greater demand for blood. It is not the first time that such an appeal has been made this year.

The shortage was registered even though there has been an increase in the number of blood donations this summer.

The improvement in the services given in the public hospitals goes hand in hand with the need for blood donations. Unless people give blood – and blood can save lives – it would not be possible for operations to take place. It is even worse if people involved in accidents cannot be saved because no blood is available to replace what they lost.

The Maltese are known to be generous people. We see it each time there is a call for donations of cash and kind. We have just seen it these days when so many people turned up with bottled water and tinned food to donate them to the Libyan people.

Blood donation takes a little bit more. It is much easier to give money and products. It is a bigger sacrifice to go to the blood transfusion centre for an hour or more to give something that is more personal.

But it should be done nonetheless. Just as much as water and food are necessary to help people who are hungry and thirsty, it is equally necessary to help people who are physically weak and who need blood.

It would be a sad day if operations had to stop because no blood was available. It would be even sadder if a life is lost in an accident just because there was no blood available.

Just imagine that the patient waiting in hospital, or who is seriously injured in an accident, is a loved one. Wouldn’t you want that relative or friend to be saved by someone else’s blood?