American Red Cross Biomedical Services is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the United States, collecting and processing more than 40 percent of the blood supply and distributing it to some 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide. The Red Cross also plays a leading role in protecting the safety of donors and patients and increasing the availability of blood. Providing life-saving blood and blood products to patients is a key component of the Red Cross mission to help people in times of emergency and disasters.