ALBANY– The American Red Cross is urging people to give blood or platelets now. Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those with type O blood, to keep the blood supply steady ahead of the coming holiday season.

The organization says that as people settle into fall activities, keeping blood and platelet donation appointments on the calendar is crucial to making sure hospitals have what they need to care for patients this fall.

As a thank-you, everyone who comes to give from Oct. 19 through Nov. 22 will receive up to $20 in gift cards: a $10 Amazon gift card by email, plus 500 bonus points that can be redeemed for a $10 e-gift card through Blood Donor Rewards. Details are at RedCrossBlood.org/Maze.

To schedule a donation appointment, donors can visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or use the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. To help educate and empower its donors, the Red Cross will again offer free A1C testing on successful donations made in November. The test is commonly used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes. Each donor can receive one result per calendar year.