The Blood Bank of Hawaii tends to see a dip in donations during the holiday season, but this December the gift of blood has been especially scarce.

Donations are 35% lower than normal, representing about 300 fewer donors this month compared to last December.

“This little blip has caught us off guard,” said Todd Lewis, the blood bank’s chief operating officer. “It’s not normal.”

There are many distractions around the holiday season — gifts to buy, relatives to visit. But the donation center is hearing about one more frequently this holiday season: the flu.

“Our recruiters are hearing more and more, ‘I’m sick, I’ll come back when I recover,’” said Lewis.

The bank typically accounts for the drop during the summer and holiday seasonal shortage by importing about 10% of Hawaii’s blood needs from the mainland. But that back-up supply has already been tapped.

“All it takes is a snowstorm, tornado, or something that distracts them and we have a shortage,” he said.

To keep up with the steady demand from hospitals, the Blood Bank of Hawaii needs a three-day supply of red blood cells at all times.

To make up for the shortage, the bank has opened pop-up donation centers around Oahu and will host its “Are You Tough Enough Blood Drive” at Dave & Buster’s on Thursday.

Only about 2% of Hawaii residents donate blood, which compares to a national average of about 3%, according to Lewis. In Hawaii, the average age of a donor is between 42 and 55 years.

“As that sizable group of donors gets older, they’re the ones who end up needing the blood some day,” Lewis said, noting the bank is working on cultivating a new generation of donors by increasing its outreach to Hawaii high schools. Over the last five years, it has increased the percentage of high school donations from 7% to 14%.

“We put in the energy to educate our young folks because that’s our future lifelong donor,” he said.