Give blood. You may save someone’s life. The nation’s blood banks have experienced severe shortages for a few years.

That changed as donors formed long lines at blood banks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, creating a 10-day blood supply across the nation.

But as Americans are returning to their normal lives, blood banks in states such as California, Arizona and New York are again facing the blood shortages that plagued them prior to the attacks.

Michigan isn’t facing a shortage yet, but supplies are dwindling. The American Red Cross says the state has a five-to-seven day supply of blood. The blood collected here is sent to California, Chicago and anywhere else experiencing a shortage.

The helping spirit that Americans showed overwhelming after the attacks must become an everyday occurrence.

Feelings of patriotism and compassion urged people to try to overcome their fears and donate more than four months ago. But giving blood isn’t something we should wait to do in the wake of a tragedy. The country is faced with blood shortages every day.

We must take the lessons we’ve learned from the tragedy and apply them to our everyday lives.

Your blood is important, and giving once isn’t enough. The waiting period between blood donations is 56 days, which means that if you donated soon after Sept. 11, you can donate again.

We applaud the organizations who have held blood drives. A drive held by Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity processed 118 donors in November. To stop there is not enough. We urge other groups to do their parts and help in the effort.

An hour of your time can save someone’s life. Please take time to donate.