The American Red Cross will host two blood drives at GW this month as part of an appeal for blood donations in its Greater Chesapeake and Potomac region.

The first of the blood drives will be held in the Marvin Center, room 311 Jan. 27 and the second in Ross Hall Jan. 30.

A significant decrease in donor turnout during the weeks surrounding the holiday season has left a shortage in the region, with some blood types dropping to critical and emergency levels, according to the American Red Cross.

“With the holidays and people taking vacation, people are not really in that mindset to make blood donations. People are also more hesitant to run blood drives because they think they will see fewer donors,” Erica Kagan, an American Red Cross account representative, said.

In 2011, the American Red Cross collected 624 productive units at GW through working with student groups on campus to organize drives.

Kagan said she hopes to achieve even greater success in this year.

“I definitely think having a student group that runs the blood drive allows students to get more involved. It’s been my goal to build up those relationships and get students to take ownership of the blood drives,” Kagan said.

This month’s blood drives are sponsored by the Gamma Beta chapter of Theta Tau and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, respectively.