Looking for that last-minute Christmas gift that will make a real difference in someone's life?

You won't have to go to the store or on Amazon to buy it. It won't cost you a penny, just about an hour or so of your time.

Best of all, your gift won't be wasted or unappreciated by the recipient. In fact, it may be the most precious and important gift that person ever receives.

It's a blood donation. The gift of life.

And they mean that literally.

Babies with sickle-cell diseases and other afflictions. Young children who've been injured in accidents. Cancer patients. Victims of motor vehicle crashes. Gunshot victims and other victims of violence. People undergoing surgery. People suffering from heart ailments and blood diseases.

Someone in the United States needs blood or platelets every two seconds. Two seconds. By the time you're finished reading this sentence, someone will need a blood donation. That's how much your gift is needed.

Just one motor vehicle accident victim can require 100 units of blood. For the nearly 2 million people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with cancer each year, many need blood, sometimes daily, during chemotherapy treatments.

Your gift of life is needed now and all throughout the year. Blood donations tend to drop off during holidays as people get busy and distracted, so now is an ideal time to give this gift.

If you're one of those people who needs a gift tag to make it an official present, imagine your child or spouse or parent or friend lying in that hospital bed in need of a blood donation. Imagine their name on the list of patients in need. That's your gift tag.

So take some time this holiday season to make a blood donation appointment. You can sign up online at https://www.redcrossblood.org/.

Chances are there's a blood drive taking place within a few miles of your home or workplace.

A single donation takes less than an hour, including sign-in time.

You can give a gift that will be forgotten in a couple of days or months, or you can give a gift that will last a lifetime.

Go beyond the traditional Christmas present this year and do something that really captures the true meaning of the holiday season. Make a real commitment to donate blood.

Do it right now while you're thinking about it.

If you think people love Santa at Christmastime, imagine what they'll think of you.