Summer is a busy time of year for many people.

It's a time for traveling, outdoor activities and spending time having fun.Because of this, the number of people who are actually rolling up their sleeves and donating a pint of blood plummets, creating a shortage for when blood units are needed to help patients in need.Both the American Red Cross, which serves hospitals in Monroe; and Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which supplies area hospitals such as Blue Mountain Health System and St. Luke's University Health Networkreport that their blood supply is at a "dangerously low level."Miller-Keystone serves hospitals in Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northampton and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Warren, New Jersey."Blood donations have been down this summer, which is the main reason we are at risk of not having blood available for patients in need," an email from Miller-Keystone to donors states. "If the blood donations do not drastically increase immediately, we will not have blood available to treat local patients' needs.""There is a serious need of all blood types," the American Red Cross website states. "Your blood donation matters."Debra E. Otto, director of donor resources for Miller-Keystone, said that all blood types are urgently needed, especially both O-positive and O-negative, as well as B-negative."This summer's collections have been impacted by excessive heat and the Zika virus," she said. "That has set the stage for a national and local blood shortage. Our first responsibility is to our community. "Hospital usageThe lower supply to the higher demand has not affected either Blue Mountain Health System or St. Luke's operations to date.Ron Feltenberger, manager of Laboratory and Operations at St. Luke's Miners Campus, said that Miller-Keystone is a blood supplier for all St. Luke's University Health Network campuses and has been able to meet the needs without any issues."For situations like this," he said, "Millerhas purchase agreements in place with other blood banks to fill the needs of their clients, but it is significantly more costly than recruiting donors locally."Lucille Hough, administrative director of Laboratory Services at Blue Mountain Health System, agreed.She said that the health system receives weekly notifications from the American Association of Blood Banks regarding the availability of blood products, noting that there has been a higher than normal usage of O-positive and O-negative red cells, but that demand has not affected Miller-Keystone's ability to supply the health system with the blood products it needs."We have had no problems," she said, adding that no procedures or surgeries that require blood units have had to be canceled as a result of the shortage.But that could all change if donors do not help in the immediate future."At this moment, our inventory level is not sufficient enough to be of assistance nationally, and in actuality, without increased donations in the next few days, our ability to save local lives will be threatened," Otto said. "With the current national shortage, few if any other blood centers would be able come to our rescue."Saving lives is only possible if the blood is already on the shelf and that ability will be greatly reduced without the immediate support of the community," she added.