On Thursday, plenty of people stopped by the Ironton Fire Department to help save lives by donating blood.

The process is easy, stop by with a driver’s license or blood donor card, lay down on a table and American Red Cross workers take your blood. A couple minutes, and the donor is done.

But the blood isn’t. The American Red Cross has a goal of getting 13,000 donations every day to supply 2,600 hospitals.

The Red Cross had about 200 canceled blood drives in the region  because of cold and snow and they saw 28,000 fewer donations in November and December due to the holiday season.

Annually, blood drives in Lawrence, Scioto, Pike, and Jackson counties collect 4,200 units of blood, which can save 12,000 lives.

IFD Chief Mike Mahlmeister summed it up nicely when asked why they hold so many blood drives every year.

“It is a very worthy cause and it can save a life,” he said.