Consequently, O-negative donors must provide enough supply to completely meet that population’s demand in addition to those whose blood types are uncertain at the time of transfusion. population has O-negative blood, and they can only receive blood from other O-negatives. “Immediate Need for Type O-Negative Whole Blood Donors,” they implore. The hospitals where I work regularly broadcast requests for donors via email. When there’s no time for matching blood types, it’s O-negative blood like mine that is pumped into these patients’ veins. My husband sees blood products being put to work even more dramatically on his shifts in the emergency department, as they’re rapidly infused into trauma patients. I’m now, years later, a physician who sees patients benefit from transfusions every day, from children with sickle cell disease to adults with leukemia. When I received my American Red Cross Donor Card weeks later indicating that I was “O-negative” – a universal donor – I became all the more motivated. I felt newly mature as I signed the consent form the idea that my transient discomfort potentially could help save a life inspired me, and I committed to making blood donation a habit. In my senior year I helped organize a blood drive in my high school gymnasium.