The American Red Cross is offering Amazon gift cards in order to entice more people to donate blood.

The organization says that the supply of blood is critically low and that they need more people to donate.

“Right now hospitals are using blood faster than we can provide it. So it’s serious,” says NJ American Red Cross CEO Rosie Taravella.

In an effort to increase donations, the Red Cross is offering a $5 Amazon gift card as a way of saying “Thank you.”

“Giving blood when we’re healthy for those times when we’re not is super important,” says volunteer Haba Fonseca-Sabune. “You can’t get it anywhere else. It has to be from donors.”

The organization says that donations typically decline in the summer when more people are away on vacation. The Red Cross needs 800 units of blood donated each day to meet the needs of hospitals in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

Only 3 percent of those who are eligible to donate blood in New Jersey actually donate, according to the Red Cross.

The $5 gift card promotion runs through Aug. 30. A list of ways to donate blood can be found on the Red Cross website.