San Diego City College will be joined by the San Diego Blood Bank to hold a blood drive on April 11.

This month marks 40 years of donations in San Diego County, according to the blood bank’s webpage.  Last year’s donations reached 435 pints of blood.

This year the blood bank’s goal is 501 pints, which would surpass last year’s collection.

Can’t access the video? To watch the video above, click here. To read a transcript, click here.

The blood bank was on campus in March and shared the importance of donating blood.

“The importance of donating blood is hospitals need it every day,” said a blood bank supervisor who identified herself as Mimi at last month’s event at City College. “If you donate a unit of blood you’re actually saving three lives. We have trauma patients, we have cancer patients that they need it every day.”

According to a press release from the blood bank, it is still struggling to meet demands for blood.

“The San Diego Blood Bank currently is low on most types and must collect more than 350 pints of blood every day just to meet our region’s growing need for blood and blood products,” said San Diego Blood Bank CEO Doug Morton in the release. 

The County has partnered with the San Diego Blood Bank to open two additional sites, bringing the number of donation locations to 24.

For students scheduling appointments on campus, you can go to sdcity.edu and search the events calendar. If this is your first time donating to the Blood Bank, you can register online when you make your appointment or when you walk in on campus.

If you are unable to make it to campus, you can book an appointment at one of the locations closest to you on the San Diego Blood Bank website. There are more events happening throughout the month as well.

Updated, April 19: Additional link to video and transcript added to the story.