BALTIMORE (AP) — To counteract summertime lows in blood supplies, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is encouraging Marylanders to donate blood.

Brown is visiting a blood drive sponsored by the American Red Cross on Tuesday at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Medical Campus.

The event will highlight the Maryland Blood Wastage Reduction Collaborative program, which helps 44 acute care hospitals share best practices and increase communication about blood supplies to reduce wasted blood throughout the state. The program, developed in 2009, is sponsored by the Maryland Health Quality and Cost Council, which Brown chairs.

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