Fresh off a holiday weekend, the Tampa Bay area's blood supplier is reporting there is a critical need for O Negative blood throughout the region.

"Our reserves of Type O Negative blood to resupply area hospitals is about a day to a day and a half supply," said OneBlood spokesman Daniel Eberts. "Ideally, we want to have at least a 3-day supply so we are prepared to respond quickly when the need for universal donor Type O Negative blood surges."

O Negative blood is considered "universal" in that any patient can receive it regardless of personal blood type. This particular type of blood is "critical for trauma patients, premature babies, cancer patients and emergency surgeries," Eberts explained.