Blood collections usually go down by about 15-20 percent during summer with schools and colleges on break and donors on vacation. Blood drives are also put at risk during the summer, since extremely hot weather can disrupt mobile drives at locations without climate-control.

The need for blood is often higher in summer from patients undergoing surgeries, ERs treating traumatic injuries, people receiving cancer treatment and surgeons performing organ transplants. It takes about 900 donors per day to maintain a sufficient blood supply for the 90 Northwest hospitals served by BloodworksNW. The following drives will be held in June.

San Juan Island: Wednesday, June 7, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Mullis Community Senior Center.

Orcas Island: Thursday, June 8, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastsound Fire Station.

Lopez Island: Friday, June 9, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., (closed 1:30-2:30), Community Church in the Village.